


On the Road

by afallenblackrose



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Genre: Gen, Read at Your Own Risk, and a minor analysis of the way the media works with celebrities, and some mentions of twitter, and there are a lot of song lyrics, no senshi at all, this is stirctly an au/song fanfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2018-09-28 12:15:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 98,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10100159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afallenblackrose/pseuds/afallenblackrose
Summary: One male pop star plus one female lead singer of an underground band plus a huge summer tour equals an experience that none will soon forget. Hearts will be caught and broken. Lies will be told and spun. The question is will everyone involved come away with their happily ever after? Or is the price of the music industry too much for one girl to take? Read to find out!





	1. Before the Tour: The Tryout

**Author's Note:**

> So obviously I don't own Sailor Moon. And I don't own the songs "If I Had You" and "For Your Entertainment" by Adam Lambert.

Darien Shields, the famous pop star, sat with his fingers on the bridge of his nose. He felt a headache coming on, and he wasn’t even close to being done with all the auditions for the day. His manager, Sapphire, sat next o him and looked at him with concern. He didn’t want anything to happen to his big money maker the week before his big summer tour was supposed to start. He waited, and as soon as Darien gave him the signal to continue with the auditions he called the next band out. But as the punk looking band came onto the stage, Darien already knew that he wasn’t going to pay attention to them. This was _not_ the band he was looking for to open for him on the tour.

As the day progressed, Darien had to take four aspirin to keep his headache at bay. The bands that had come out had many problems; they didn’t know how to play their instruments, they sung horribly off key, or they were a screamo band, all qualities of what Darien wasn’t looking for. It was getting to the point that he was considering telling Sapphire to send the last band of the day home. But, he had to give them a shot. Besides it’s not like they could be any worse than the other thirty or so bands he heard that day. At least he hoped that they wouldn’t be.

He repeated the sentiments in his head, as he watched a blonde haired woman – who looked absolutely gorgeous – walk out on stage with her band, and unlike the others, they were dressed in jeans and t-shirts. Maybe, just maybe this was a good thing.   

“All right,” Sapphire called out. “You have two minutes to impress us. Use it wisely…” The blonde nodded her head and stepped forward to the microphone. Her keyboard player pressed a button and a new beat pumped through the speakers. It was sort of catchy to Darien. After a few beats, the blonde began to sing.

 _So I got my boots on, got the right ‘mount of leather_  
_And I’m doing me up with a black color linear_  
_And I’m working my strut, though I know it don’t matter_  
_All we need in this world is some love_  
_There’s a thin line between the dark side and the light side_  
_Baby, tonight_  
_It’s a struggle, gotta rumble trying to find it_   

Darien didn’t know what possessed him, but he stood up during the performance and called out, “Stop!” The blonde looked up startled and the keyboard player stopped the beat. Really, he had no idea why he stopped them, it was quite a catchy beat and she was by far the best vocals he had heard that day. But something about the song was just bland. She was playing it safe, that had to be it. All he knew was that he didn’t care; he needed this torturous day to stop.

What he didn’t expect was for the singer to talk back.    

“Is there a problem?” She asked, and Darien was floored, her regular voice was just as angelic as her singing voice. He blinked, trying to figure out how to reply to her question.    

“Yes, there’s a problem. A huge problem,” he replied. “You can sing, I’ll give you that, but the song is quite boring. Do you have any range to your voice? Do you have a song that’s more entertaining?” He sounded mean, but if she really wanted to make it in the music business she was going to have to get used to being critiqued on her music.    

“Boring?” The blonde repeated. “And more entertaining?” She sounded pissed off, and for some reason this caused Darien to smirk in victory. She was quiet for a minute, and then she backed away from the microphone to talk to her band about something. After a lengthy discussion and multiple looks in his direction she approached the microphone. “So, let’s say I have a more ‘entertaining’ song. Would I be able to perform it right now?”

He should have said no. Really, he should have. The other bands got one shot, but there was something about her that he couldn’t say no to. Besides she was the only one who actually showed real talent. “Sure, why not? You’re the last group today anyway…” Darien trailed off and sat back down. “Whenever you’re ready.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest and watched with interest as the blonde moved away from the microphone and began snapping her fingers. Soon a beat joined her, and he was very intrigued as to what this song was about.

 _So hot, out the box, can we pick up the pace?_  
_Turn it up, heat it up I need to be entertained_  
_Are you with it?_  
_Baby, don’t be afraid_  
_I’ma hurt ‘ya real good, baby_  
_Let’s go, it’s my show_  
_Baby, do what I say_  
_Don’t trip off the glitz that I’m gonna display_  
_I told you, I’ma hold you down until you’re amazed_  
_Give it to ya, ‘til you’re screaming my name_  
_No escaping when I start_  
_Once I’m in, I own your heart_  
_There’s no way to ring the alarm_  
_So hold on until it’s over_  
_Oh do you know what you got into?_  
_Can you handle what I’m about to do?_  
_‘Cause it’s about to get rough for you_  
_I’m here for your entertainment_  
_Oh I bet you thought that I was soft and sweet_  
_You thought an angel swept you off your feet_  
_Well, I’m about to turn up the heat_  
_I’m here for your entertainment_

Darien felt his mouth pop open. He had been right. She had a talent, and apparently, she definitely had the range. Not to mention that this song, compared to the last one was more entertaining. But, good God was it suggestive. That was the final straw. He didn’t need to have another day of auditions tomorrow. He knew whom he wanted to open up for him on the tour. And her name was…. Wait, he didn’t even know the name of the group that he was listening to right now. He turned to Sapphire, who was watching him intently.    

“What’s the name of the band?” He whispered.    

“Beautiful Angels Go to Hell,” Sapphire replied. “Why, you liking them?”

“I want them as the opening act.”   

“Darien, are you sure? You still have a whole day of auditions tomorrow…”   

“Trust me, I know what I want, and I want them…” he trailed off and added in his head. _I also want her._ He focused back on the band and realized that they were on the final verse, and the blonde had taken the microphone out of the stand.

 _Oh do you like what you see?_  
_Whoa let me entertain ya ‘til you scream_  
_Oh_  
_Do you know what you got into?_  
_Can you handle what I’m about to do?_  
_Cause it’s about to get rough for you_  
_I’m here for your entertainment_  
_Oh I bet you thought that I was soft and sweet_  
_(Bet you thought)_  
_You thought an angel swept you off your feet_  
_Well, I’m about to turn up the heat_  
_I’m here for your entertainment._  

When the song finished, the blonde held the microphone away from her face and tried to catch her breath. Darien couldn’t blame her. Those were some sick notes that she had just hit. He knew now without a doubt that he definitely wanted her on the tour with him. Next to him, Sapphire began to clap and Darien joined in. After a few minutes, he opened his mouth to speak.   

“Now, why didn’t you begin with _that_?” He asked.

“Because I hit some major ass notes in it, and my voice isn’t at a hundred percent,” she replied looking at him, as she brushed some of her hair out of her face. He tried not to have his jaw drop. That was her voice when she wasn’t at a hundred percent? What the hell? If that wasn’t a hundred percent, he can only imagine what it would sound like at a hundred.    

“Hm…okay, then… Beautiful Angels Go to Hell,” he started. “I have good news. You’ll be joining me on the tour this summer. We leave next week.” Time seemed to pass for the young blonde singer. There was no way that she had heard him right. After what she thought was a rocky start to the performance, she had killed it, and now…   

“Are you serious?” She heard her guitar player exclaim in joy.    

“Yes, I am,” Darien nodded. “Congratulations -?”   

“Oh, I’m Nick,” the guitar player said. “The girl on the keyboards is Lita, guy on drums is Paul, and the lead singer is Serena, who I’m pretty sure is now comatose.” He walked over to the blonde and waved a hand in front of her face. She blinked and looked up.   

“What, Nick?” She snapped at him.   

“Seriously, that’s all you have to say about being named to the biggest tour in the world?” Serena opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it. So that hadn’t been a dream. Her band had really been named as the opening act to Darien Shield’s big summer tour. For the first time in Serena’s life, she found herself at a loss for words.    

Darien continued watching the blonde, smirking a little at her reaction. Even though, he couldn’t blame her. He had once been in her position too, but things had changed and he now had everything he could ever want. Well, except for one thing, he continued to stare predatorily at Serena. But since he had all summer to get this one thing he wanted, it didn’t bother him one bit.    

This tour was going to be flipping awesome!


	2. Before the Tour: Bonding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. I don't own the songs "If I Had You" by Adam Lambert and "I Want You" by Savage Garden either. Enjoy!

Serena woke up the next morning, still in disbelief at what had happened the day before. She had finally met the biggest pop star this nation had ever seen in the past decade face to face. She had even spoken to him, and yes, it had been in anger, but she still had spoken to him! Not to mention that, unless it was all a dream, she was going to be on tour with him all summer! Her band couldn't have gotten a bigger break than this. They needed this desperately if they wanted to make it big in the music world, and damn it they had pulled it off! With that thought in her head, Serena got out of bed and found herself standing in front of her mirror.

She didn't stand in front of the mirror and analyze every little detail of her appearance every day. She wasn't obsessed with herself like other girls were. She only did it when a significant moment happened in her life. For instance, when she had graduated high school, when she had gone on her first date, all major milestones in her life. Today was such a day. Her band was going to be the opening act on the _biggest_ tour of the summer. It was going to be epic….

Staring confidently into the reflective surface, she was still happy at what she saw. Well, for the most part. Her face was heart shaped, and her skin was very pale, but not so pale that it looked unnatural or unhealthy. The best feature of her face was her eyes. They were cornflower blue and spoke volumes of what she was feeling at any given point. Then there was her hair. God, her hair! She could probably go on forever about her hair and how annoyingly long it was, but she didn't really care at that point. It was true, her golden blonde hair went way past her shoulders, stopping near the base of her butt. Her friends and band mates said that it was the best feature about her, but Serena disagreed, in fact she had every intention of getting rid of her hair. At the thought, Serena leaned in closer to the mirror and began to play with it. She had been wearing it this way too long, and after everything that happened yesterday, it was time for it to go.

It was time for a change.

* * *

Across town, Darien was meeting up with the members of his back up band at a local diner. Usually they only met up to hang out, because Darien's back up band were more than just his back up band, they were his friends, and the only few people in the world that he could actually trust. But today was different. Today's meeting was tour related, since he had yet to tell everyone the new band that would be opening for them on the tour, and Darien had a personal dilemma of his own that he needed serious guidance on. A personal dilemma that walked on two legs, had blonde hair, and who was in every thought that he had had since he had left the theater the night before. If there was anyone who could solve this problem for him, it would be his friends. They usually met up at Helga's café and that's where they were meeting that morning.

However, the back up singers, Mina and Raye, who were dating Mark and Jason respectively, had tagged along. Now, Darien usually didn't mind, since Raye and Mina were pretty cool and offered a unique brand of advice, but today was a different story. The dilemma he had was best discussed among men, even if it would be nice to have a woman's perspective of the matter.

"Hey," Darien greeted them as they slid into the booth. The waitress brought over additional glasses of water, and two extra cups of coffee. All the waitress' knew them at Helga's, they dined there fairly often. "What's going on?"

"Not much," Mark admitted. "Kind of surprised to see you here though. Didn't you have, like, a thousand more auditions to suffer through today?"

"I would have, but I found the opening act in yesterday's bunch. The band was the last to audition for the day, and was by _far_ the best I had seen. Besides they had something going…"

"What's the name of the band?" Raye asked, her smart phone already out to search for them on the worldwide web. That was the only draw back to Raye. She was always attached to her phone. She probably could not live without it for a week, let alone a day.

"Beautiful Angels Go to Hell," he replied still chuckling at the band name. He had to remember to ask Serena and the others how they had come to chose that name the next time he saw them.

"Hm…" Raye said and Mina leaned over to look at her screen. They both looked up at Darien with amused expressions on their faces. "That's interesting. You said you picked them because they 'had something going'? Are you sure it's not just because you want to sleep with the lead singer?"

Darien was baffled into silence. It was shocking sometimes how easily Raye and Mina could read him and his intentions. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to talk about his dilemma with them too. Besides, Mark and Jason would tell them anyway, might as well skip that middle step.

"Wait, let me see that picture!" Jason exclaimed, making a snatch for Raye's phone. She handed it to him without a fight. After a second, he handed it to Mark, who handed it back to Raye after taking a quick glance at the screen. "I can see why you picked the band to open for you now. She is pretty damn hot. No offense, Raye." He shot an apologetic look to his girlfriend who just waved him off.

"That's not the reason I picked her band," Darien argued, but was met with four pairs of doubting eyes. "Well, okay, that's not the _only_ reason. She's actually pretty damn talented. But she's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Would it be wrong for me to sleep with her? I mean, she is pretty damn hot, and well, I think she's actually…" he fumbled for the right words, but that pause was all he needed to say before Mina jumped at the chance to say something.

"Oh, no. _No way!_ This has something more attached to it. You don't just want to sleep with this girl, you want a relationship with her! That's the only reason you're even discussing this with us. If you just wanted to have her be another notch in your belt, you would have just slept with her already." He didn't say anything in response, and Mark and Jason's eyes widened in surprise. Raye just looked bored by the whole thing. Darien wished that he could do the same.

"Is she telling the truth?" Jason asked, his voice higher than normal. "Is Darien Shields, the famous playboy, actually looking for a serious relationship? I never thought that I would see this day." He put a hand to his heart and dropped his head to the table.

"Jason, stop being so overdramatic," Mark said, hitting him on the back of the head. "It's about time he stopped sleeping around, but I'm not sure about his choice. What's so special about this Serena that you're willing to give up your reputation? Not to mention that her and her band are just starting on the music scene. If you do start a relationship with her, and things end badly, what do you think will happen to her music career?" Darien sighed. Mark was always the logical one.

"I didn't say that I was going to jump her and start dating her right away," he replied. "But you're right, if we start dating and things go badly, she'll probably be known as that girl who dated Darien Shields while they were on tour, who opened for him. I don't want that for her, she is really talented. I wish you guys could meet her, because then you'd understand what I'm talking about." He sighed, but then got a brainstorm. The night before, he remembered that Sapphire had arranged for Serena and the band to go to the studio so that they could put together a quick album before the tour started. Darien just didn't remember what time they were supposed to be there. He pulled out his phone and called the one person who would.

"Hello, this is Sapphire," the man answered.

"Hey, Sapphire, it's Darien."

"Ah, Darien! I hadn't expected to hear from you so soon. What can I do for you?"

"I was just wondering, Beautiful Angels Go to Hell has studio time today, right?"

"Yes, they do."

"Well, what time are they supposed to be there?" Darien asked.

"They're actually supposed to be in there right now," Sapphire replied, some rustling sounds being made. "May I ask why you're so curious?"

"I was thinking of stopping by and seeing what they were working on. See if I can give them some pointers."

"Darien, you know that's not a good idea."

"Well, I was thinking about bringing the band with me too. Make it into a get together thing before the tour starts, you know?" Darien lied through his teeth, even though it wasn't really a lie. It would probably be a good idea for everyone to get together before the tour started, so that way they weren't complete strangers that first day and things wouldn't be super awkward.

Sapphire sighed on the other end, "Okay, if you say it's for a 'bonding' thing before the tour, then you better get your asses over there. They only have three hours of studio time today…"

"Okay, cool, thanks Sapphire," he hung up the phone. Mark, Mina, Raye, and Jason were all looking at him expectantly. "Well, we have to go to the studio. There are some people that I want you to meet."

* * *

Serena danced into the studio in a very funky mood. She was in a real live professional music studio. She was about to record for the first time, it was going to be so epic. Not to mention she had just gotten out of the salon, and her hair was the best thing in the freaking world. Nick, Paul, and Lita looked up upon her entrance, and their mouths hit the floor.

"Serena?" Lita asked. "Is that really you?" She approached her friend cautiously, but there was no need for caution. Serena was smiling like a loon at their reactions. That was _exactly_ the reaction she had been hoping for when she walked out of the salon.

"Yep, it's me," she replied, twirling around and showcasing her hair. "Well, what do you think? Do you guys like my hair?" Paul closed his mouth and nodded his head enthusiastically, while Nick just continued to stare his mouths agape. The long blonde hair that had been Serena's trademark was gone. Instead, she was now a deep brunette with a short pixie cut. The change made her look more mature and in the boys' case, sexier.

"It's amazing!" Lita exclaimed, reaching out and taking a strand in her fingers. "Why did you change it though, if you don't mind me asking? You loved your blonde hair!" Serena only laughed at the question. Lita knew how much Serena had detested her long hair. She always needed someone else to brush it for her because it would get too long for her to do it herself.

"You know why, Lita," she replied.

"Well, I know about the length, but I didn't think you hated the color too."

"Well, I figured if I was getting it cut, I might as well get it dyed too," Serena said. "Besides the length and the color go perfectly together. I don't think this cut would have looked that good with my angel blonde hair." She crossed her arms in front of her chest and nodded her head. That was all that she felt like saying on the matter. There were more important items at hand, and it was time that the band got to business. They only had three hours of studio time, they had better use it wisely. "So, you guys ready for our first time in a recording studio?"

"Hell, yes!" They all exclaimed.

"Good thing," a voice said from over the microphone system. They looked to the sound booth and saw a woman with short black hair with a bluish tint sitting in front of the soundboard. "My name is Amy, and I'll be your music mixer and producer for your album. Welcome to the music business."

Serena and the band had just begun the song that they had done for their audition, when Darien and his friends walked into the studio. Serena didn't notice at first and kept singing the song.

_There's a thin line between the dark side and the light side_   
_Baby tonight, it's a struggle gotta rumble trying to find it_

Just like at the audition, Darien interrupted the song.

"Why do you keep insisting on doing that song?"

The music stopped and Serena's head whipped around to look at him. She was glaring, because she was pissed. That was the second time that he had interrupted her from doing the song. What was _his_ problem with it? Darien met her gaze, with an amused expression on his face, until he took in her new appearance. She was dressed in another pair of light washed jeans and was wearing a blue tank top. But her hair! The golden waterfall that he had seen the day before was gone. What had she done to her hair?

"Because you never let me finish the song," she replied bringing him away from her hair. For now. "What is _your_ problem with this song?"

"Honestly? I told you yesterday, it doesn't show off your talent, and it is really quite boring." He smirked as he saw her begin to fume. She opened her mouth to say something, when a voice over the microphone system from the sound booth rang through the studio.

"Darien, leave her alone and let her finish the song." He turned back and saw his producer, Amy, at the soundboard. There was usually no arguing with her, and he knew that he better let her have her way or else he would be stuck with early morning recording sessions for the rest of his career.

"Fine," he replied. "But I better be impressed, by the time the song is over." He motioned for Serena to take her place at the microphone again. She glared at him, which only made him smile. For some reason, pissing her off was very amusing to him.

"From the last line of the first verse," Amy said and counted down; three, two, one.

_Baby, tonight, it's a struggle gotta rumble trying to find it_   
_But if I had you_   
_That would be the only thing I'd ever need_   
_Yeah if I had you_   
_Then money, fame and fortune never could compete_   
_If I had you_   
_Life would be a party it'd be ecstasy_   
_Yeah, if I had you, you, you_   
_If I had you_   
_From New York to LA, getting high rock n' rolling_   
_Get a room trash it up 'til it's ten in the morning_   
_Girls in stripper heals, boys rolling in Maseratis_   
_What they need in this world is some love_   
_There's a thin line between a wild time_   
_And a flat line_   
_Baby tonight, it's a struggle gotta rumble trying to find it_   
_But if I had you_   
_That would be the only thing I'd ever need_   
_Yeah if I had you_   
_Then money, fame and fortune never could compete_   
_If I had you_   
_Life would be a party, it'd be ecstasy_   
_Yeah, if I had you, you, you_   
_If I had_   
_The flashing of the lights_   
_It might feel so good_   
_But I got you stuck in my mind, yeah!_   
_The fashion and the stage_   
_It might get me high_   
_But it don't mean a thing tonight_

Darien watched transfixed as Serena sang the song that he wouldn't allow her to finish at her audition. He felt like such an idiot now. It really wasn't that boring, he just had some major issues that day after hearing some thirty odd bands perform. God, that girl had a voice!

_That would be the only thing I'd ever need_   
_Yeah, if I had you_   
_The money, fame and fortune never could compete_   
_If I had you, life would be a party it'd be ecstasy_   
_If I had you, you, you_   
_If I had you_

At the end of the song, everyone clapped, except for Darien. He might have been wrong about the song, but he wasn't about to admit that he was wrong. That was just something that he never did. Ever. Serena continued to glare at him though, making him feel worse and worse for making her feel that way about her song. But for some reason, he wasn't done quite yet.

"Like I said, boring," he said after the clapping had died down. "Compared to that song that you did for me at the audition." He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not really impressed. Yeah, you can hit the high notes, I'll give you that, but don't tell me all your songs sound the same."

"Hmph. Like your songs are any better?" She countered.

"What did you just say?" Darien asked, totally flabbergasted. She did not just go after _his_ music. There were a lot of things that he could stand; people attacking him, his family, his friends, and his playboy persona in the press, but he could _not_ stand for people attacking his music. She had just crossed a _serious_ line.

"You heard me," she replied. "You're preaching to me that all my songs sound a like because I can hit these really high notes and that's what will grab people's attention. But what about your music, Darien? Sorry to break it to you, but from what I was hearing on the radio, all of your stuff has the same exact tempo and beat. You just switch it around so people can't tell the difference."

The room filled with gasps, as Darien finally glared at Serena. Serious line? Forget it. This was war. No one talked about his music like that and got away with it. _No one._

"Oh, really," he drawled. He had a plan up his sleeve. "If you really think that, Serena, then you wouldn't mind singing one of my songs and seeing if you can do a better job with it." She took a step back surprised by his reaction. She hadn't expected him to challenge her to sing one of his songs. Yell at her, sure, but to sing one of _his_ songs? The moment of silence, gave Darien the opportunity to jump, "What? Can talk the talk but can't walk the walk? Come on, Serena, you're saying that my songs sound the same? Well, let me hear you sing one of them."

"Which one?" She whispered so low that he didn't quite hear her. She repeated the question, "Which one of your songs do you want me to sing?"

The song popped into his head immediately, "'I Want You.'" He heard Jason in the background try to contain his laughter. Sure it had been an impulse decision and yes, it gave away his inner most desire, but it was the hardest song so far that he had. It would be the song to give her the most trouble.

"Okay," she nodded her head, and whispered some things to her fellow band mates. The familiar beat that Darien had known for the last two years began to play, and he found himself waiting, his breath caught in his throat.

_Anytime I need to see your face, I just close my eyes_   
_And I am taken to a place_   
_Where your crystal minds and magenta feelings_   
_Take up shelter in the base of my spine_   
_Sweet like a chica cherry cola_   
_I don't need to try to explain_   
_I just hold on tight and if it happens again_   
_I may move so slightly to the arms and the lips and the face_   
_Of a human cannonball_   
_I need to, I want to_   
_Come stand a little bit closer_   
_Breathe in and get a bit higher_   
_You'll never know what hit you when I get to you_   
_Ooh, I want you I don't know if I need you but_   
_Ooh, I'd die to find out_   
_Ooh, I want you I don't know if I need you but_   
_Ooh, I'd die to find out_

Darien stared and found himself breathing normally again. She really _could_ do his songs better than he could do them himself. That was a little…scary for him to admit. He heard Mina whisper from behind him, "I think I'm going to like this girl." And he couldn't help but smile. He already liked her, and now he knew for a fact that he _wanted_ her. Desperately.

_I'm the kind of person who endorse a deep commitment_   
_Getting comfy, getting perfect is what I live for_   
_But a look and then a smell of perfume_   
_It's like I'm down on the floor and I don't know what I'm in for_   
_Conversation has a time and place in the interaction_   
_Of a lover and a mate but the time of talking_   
_Using symbols, using words can be likened_   
_To a deep sea diver who is swimming with the rainbow_   
_Come stand a little bit closer_   
_Breathe in and get a bit higher_   
_You'll never know what hit you when I get to you_

Darien couldn't help it anymore and smiled. This serious situation where he had tried to defend his music had backfired horribly. Now, it was only comical, so when the next verse started, he found himself joining in with her.

_Ooh, I want you I don't know if I need you but_   
_Ooh, I'd die to find out_   
_Ooh, I want you I don't know if I need you but_   
_Ooh, I'd die to find out_

She stopped singing, and the music stopped. She stared at him before shaking her head and laughing. Darien couldn't help but join in with her.

"Girl, it's going to be so much fun having you on the tour!" Mina exclaimed and went up to give Serena a hug. Darien just stood to the side and let it happen, his eyes were glued to her the whole time, because he knew that Mina was right. It was going to be fun having Serena on the tour. A lot of things could happen when they spent three months on the road together.

A _lot_ of things.


	3. Day 1: Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't own Sailor Moon. Don't own the songs "For Your Entertainment" by Adam Lambert and "Crash and Burn" by Savage Garden. Enjoy!

Serena's eyes were closed and she was listening to her music, so she wasn't aware that a familiar pair of deep azure blue eyes was watching her. Her mind was struggling to stay clear, but she somehow couldn't blame herself. The last week had flown by and after a multitude of recording sessions with Amy, a quick album – _For Your Entertainment_ – had been released. Add that with rehearsals for the show and the stupid photo shoots, Serena was just exhausted. The studio time had taken forever to do. She had three-hour sessions every day, and she was still surprised that she even had a voice left to do the show tonight.

Her eyes snapped open at the thought. The show tonight! She had totally forgotten that she would be performing for the first time to a crowd of this size. It was the night of the first show of the tour. And she would have thought that she would remember this because why else had she gotten up at six in the freaking morning to get on a plane to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania? And now, she was on the tour bus, making their way to the venue to get ready. Speaking of them…

She met Darien's eyes, finally noticing that he was staring at her. He was watching her quite carefully, she had to admit and the thought disturbed her greatly. Even though, after much surprise, Darien and her had become rather good friends over the last week. They had gotten together a few times with the bands to get to know each other so that way they weren't total strangers when the tour started. And then there were the photo shoots, where they had had a blast. Despite the fact that he always chastised her music, they were starting to get really close. She couldn't help but be excited for the night's show. She knew that he would be watching and for some reason she wanted to prove him wrong about her music.

She pressed pause on her iPod and took out her ear buds. "Is there a reason you're staring?" She asked her voice curt.

"Just wondering why you decided to mutilate your hair," he replied smiling at the curtness in her voice.

She shook her head in annoyance. That was the other thing. Ever since she had cut and dyed her hair, he had been making negative remarks about it every chance he got. She was getting rather sick of it. It was _her_ hair for crying out loud! She could do whatever she pleased with it. She finally blew. "Would you just stop? For once I would like to have a normal conversation with you…"

"Normal conversation?"

"Yes, a conversation that doesn't involve you going off on my music _or_ my hair." Darien sat back in his seat, totally taken by surprise by her reply. He hadn't realized what he said to her meant so much. He felt like a real idiot now for bad mouthing her hair and her music. But, at least, he now knew that deep inside Serena there was a part of her that had some sort of feelings for him. For why else would she care so much?

"I'm sorry, Serena," he said after awhile. "It's just weird for me to see you with brunette hair."

"Why would it be weird for you? You didn't know me long enough to be used to my blonde hair. And trust me if you had, you would understand why I did what I did to it."

"True, but it was kind of like your trademark. It suited you."

"Okay," Serena replied, mystified by his response. She was about to put her ear buds back in when he snatched her iPod off the table and scrolled through her songs. She leaned over to take it back from him because for some reason, she found that her iPod was like her journal of song lyrics. Personal and sometimes embarrassing, like those thirteen songs that she had by a certain artist…. Oh god, she totally forgot that she had those on there. She stood up and tried to take it back, but Darien kept it out of her reach. He recognized one of the song titles and selected it. Sure enough, his name came up on the screen.

"I was wondering how you knew all the words perfectly to 'I Want You,'" he said watching her with an amused expression on his face as she took her iPod back from him. "So you listen to my music?" Serena just rolled her eyes and ignored him as she sat back down. "Oh, come on, Sere, I'm just curious to know since you're such a critic of it."

"I'm only giving back what I received," she retorted. He only raised an eyebrow in response, which irked the hell out of her. "Fine! How about this? If I tell you what I _really_ think about your music, will you tell me what you really think of mine?"

"One hundred percent honest?"

"Yes."

He thought it over, knowing that this could be his big chance to tell her _exactly_ what he thought. How talented she really was. "Okay," he replied nodding his head. "But you first since you suggested the idea."

"Fine. In all honesty, your music does _not_ sound all-similar like I said a few days ago. It's actually catchy and to any romanticist teenaged girl or young woman they'll fall for it easily."

"So, why did you bad mouth it?"

"Because you were bad mouthing mine, and I honestly couldn't believe that such heart warming melodies could be sung by such a complete jerk."

Darien smiled. So Serena really did like his music. He couldn't help but feel elated by this small shred of news. She looked at him pointedly, and he knew what she was waiting for. "I'm not a complete jerk. Really, I'm not. In all honesty, I don't really know why I said the things I said about your song. That first one you performed for me? I think it might have been because of the fact that I had to sit through 30 some odd auditions that day, most of which were really horrible. So I acted out. But I can honestly say that those two songs you did? They are really amazing and I wouldn't be surprised if you ended up where I am when this tour is over. As long as the rest of your stuff is just as good."

Serena could only blink after he said this. So, he really did like her music after all! For some reason she couldn't explain, her heart swelled at that thought. He was staring at her again as if he was waiting for some kind of response. And boy, did she have one.

"Thanks, Darien, it means a lot to hear you say that," she smiled. "As to the last part, though, well, all I have to say is, you haven't seen anything yet."

* * *

The screams were earth shattering, and Serena could feel the anticipation and excitement for the show to begin from the crowd. It floored her to know that some of these screams were in anticipation for _her_ band. She hadn't thought that in such a short amount of time since the album came out that there would be fans already. It was sort of nerve wracking and in all honesty, flattering. Nick and Paul patted her on the shoulder, smiling, knowing in an instant what she was feeling.

"We're going to kick ass," Nick exclaimed into her ear as the crowds quieted down as the lights fell. Under the darkness, they walked out onto the stage. As soon as they had their positions, a single spotlight fell onto Serena. She took a deep breath, knowing that she could do this, and that Darien, who was on the other side of the stage, was watching to see what she had up her sleeve. A smile appeared on her face, as she approached the mike. She opened her mouth and began to sing the first few lines of her song, without the music.

_So hot, out the box_

Her voice went up high and drew out the syllable. The crowd remained silent.

 _Can we pick up the pace?_  
_Turn it up, heat it up_  
 _I need to be entertained_

The mike was now out of the stand and in her hand, she had walked to the edge of the stage. She stared at the crowd who stared back. "Hm, you know what? This song needs a beat." She turned her back to the crowd, pointed at Lita, and the true beginning melodies of 'For Your Entertainment' pumped through the theater. Serena turned around and tried it again.

 _So hot, out the box  
Can we pick up the pace?  
Turn it up, heat it up  
I need to be entertained  
Are you with it?  
Baby don't be afraid  
I'ma hurt ya real good, baby  
Let's go, it's my show  
Baby, do what I say  
Don't trip off the glitz that I'm gonna display  
I told you, I'ma hold you down until you're amazed  
Give it to ya, 'til you're screaming my name  
No escaping when I start  
Once I'm in, I own your heart  
There's no way to ring the alarm  
So hold on until it's over  
Oh, do you know what you got into?  
Can you handle what I'm about to do?  
_ ' _Cause it's about to get rough for you_  
_I'm here for your entertainment_  
 _Oh, I bet you thought that I was soft and sweet_  
 _You thought an angel swept you off your feet_  
 _Well, I'm about to turn up the heat_

Serena knew the pyrotechnics had gone off behind her when she heard the screams of amazement from the crowd. They then began to clap and scream. She smiled. She got them, hook, line and sinker.

_I'm here for your entertainment_

* * *

Serena walked back off stage, totally out of breath but pumped with adrenaline. She felt like she was high and now knew for a fact that there was no other career for her. She had to be in music. She had only done three songs (including FYE), but she couldn't believe how amazing she felt. Someone pressed a water bottle into her hand and she gratefully took it, taking long gulps.

She turned back to the stage and saw Darien walk out. She couldn't believe that she had never seen him perform live before. She took another swig from her water bottle and watched as a microphone approached his lips.

"Give it up again for Beautiful Angels Go to Hell," he exclaimed into the mike, but was drowned by another round of thunderous applause. "They are truly amazing and I'm really excited to have them touring with me for the rest of the summer!" More cheers. "So, let's move on. I know this is probably your favorite song by me, and tonight I'm glad to perform it for you. But it's going to be done with a twist. If she would be so inclined, I would like to invite Serena back to the stage." The thrum of the crowd pulsed through Serena's eardrums as she tried to process what Darien had just said. Since when did he want her to perform with him? A mike was pressed into her hand and she was lightly pushed forward towards the stage. The spotlight found her and she walked towards Darien.

"What are you doing?" She hissed at him when she reached him.

He smiled at her, "What? After that conversation on the bus I thought you would enjoy this. So, just sing the second verse, chorus and the chorus after the third verse." The lights dimmed and Serena couldn't help but glare as they walked away from each other. She didn't even know what song they were going to perform! How did he know if she knew the words? She cursed him profusely in her head. Just when she thought they had made some progress, he pulls this stunt! She was never going to forgive him for this. She was…

The beginning beats of the song finally registered with her and her thoughts took a different turn. How had he known that this was one of her favorites by him? Her mind flashed to the iPod incident on the bus and she knew the answer. He actually remembered that? She sighed. Of course, he did.

 _When you feel all alone and the world has turned it's back on you_  
_Give me a moment please, to tame your wild, wild heart_  
 _I know you feel like the walls are closing in on you_  
 _It's hard to find relief, and people can be so cold_  
 _When darkness is upon you door and you feel like you can't take anymore_  
 _Let me be the one you call_  
 _If you jump, I'll break your fall_  
 _Lift you up and fly away with you into the night_  
 _If you need to fall apart, I can mend a broken heart_  
 _If you need to crash, then crash and burn you're not alone_

Darien looked at her expectantly, and Serena found the mike in front of her lips again.

 _When you feel all alone, and a loyal friend is hard to find_  
_You're caught in a one-way street, with the monsters in your head_  
 _When hopes and dreams are far away and you feel like you can't face the day_

Something was fluttering in her heart again. Almost like the feeling she had back on the tour bus. But she ignored it, saving it for after she was done singing with him.

 _Let me be the one you call_  
_If you jump, I'll break your fall_  
 _Lift you up and fly away with you into the night_  
 _If you need to fall apart, I can mend a broken heart_  
 _If you need to crash, then crash and burn you're not alone_

Darien stared at her, not sure if he should continue on with the song. He wanted to just take her off stage, find a dark hallway and… He shook his head. He really needed to stop being so amazed by her talent. It wasn't going to do.

' _Cause there's always been heartache and pain_  
_And when it's over you'll breath again_  
 _You'll breath again_

Serena sang for him sending him a strange look. In that look, Darien knew that after this concert, they were going to have a long chat. And if she didn't start it, he would. He had to. There was no way that he could keep these feelings a secret any longer.

* * *

At the end of the song, Serena walked off stage again to a large amount of applause and cheering. But she wasn't paying attention to the applause, she was more concerned with the fluttering in her chest. Nick, Paul, and Lita looked to their friend concerned by the look on her face. She should have been elated. They had totally kicked ass, but she looked withdrawn…

"Serena?" Lita asked, approaching her. "Are you okay? You look…"

"Like shit," Sapphire finished for her as he approached the brunettes. "But there's no time to worry about that. You have an interview to do, and they don't like to be kept waiting." He took her hand and led her through the backstage crowd. Serena didn't even care. Her mind was too preoccupied by that damn fluttering. What could it possibly mean? And why was Darien deciding to be nice to her _now_? Who was he trying to play at?

"Serena, this is Mario Lopez from _Extra_ ," Sapphire introduced the two, and the hand that was shoved into her view pulled her back from her thoughts. She shook the outstretched hand and smiled back at the smiling Mario. He was a lot shorter in person. The guy pushed a mike into her face, which seemed to be happening a lot that night.

"So, Serena, you just completed your first live performance. How did it feel for you to be upstage, at first?"

"It was actually pretty nerve-wracking at first, and I was kind of freaked out when the crowd didn't get into my acoustic set. But once I hit my stride and the crowd starting participating in it, it was rather quite fun and I realized that I picked the right profession."

"The crowd seemed to be really into the three songs you did even though you just released the album yesterday. Talk about that. Do you find it surprising about how quickly people know the lyrics to your songs?"

"I'm actually not that surprised that the crowd already knew the lyrics. I think that's the beauty of the Internet these days. Word spreads about an album, group, song, whatever and the next second a person could have that particular item. I'm pretty sure it helps that my band and I are opening for Darien Shields during the tour. People were probably curious and checked it out."

"Speaking of Darien, he asked you to perform 'Crash and Burn' with him this evening. Any reason why?"

"No, I'm actually quite curious to know the answer to that myself. It was totally unexpected."

"Well, thank you for taking the time to chat with me," Mario said smiling at her.

"Not a problem," Serena said smiling back, before disappearing into the crowd again. Nick, Lita and Paul caught up to her, and took her into one of the dressing rooms. They forced her into one of the chairs and sat across from her.

"Talk now," Lita commanded and waited. And that's exactly what Serena did.

* * *

At the end of Darien's set, he walked off stage to a thunderous array of applause and cheering. He was met by a stagehand, who handed him a bottle of water and a towel to wipe the sweat off his forehead. Taking a quick swig he found Sapphire who motioned for him to join him. He made his way over, noticing that Serena was nowhere in sight. This realization caused him to frown. He thought that she would have been one of the first to meet him after he had finished. That duet that they had done together was pretty damn amazing, and he knew that he wanted to work with her again in the studio.

"Mario Lopez from _Extra_ wants an interview," Sapphire told him and ushered him towards a camera and a guy with a microphone in hand.

"So great to see you again, Darien," Mario greeted him and shook his hand.

"Good to see you too, Mario."

"I only have a few questions about the show, I promise I won't take up too much of your time. The first night of your three-month summer tour is now complete. How do you think it went?"

"I think it went well. The crowd's energy was amazing and I can't wait to see how the rest of the tour goes."

"About the music, fans really haven't had any new music by you since the album came out in November. Any chance they'll hear some new material while on the tour?"

"I'm actually working on some new stuff right now, and I will most likely perform it sometime over the next three months. But after the tour is over, I have every intention of going back into the studio to work on my next album."

"Now, you did something entirely different tonight and invited Serena from Beautiful Angels Go to Hell, the opening act, to perform 'Crash and Burn' with you. Why did you do that?"

Darien froze for a second on the question. He should have known that Mario was going to ask it. Really he should have. "Well, ever since the audition last week, I've been ragging on her about her music. In fact, one day last week during her studio time, I challenged her to sing one of my songs. She did it really well, and I don't know, I think I did it as an apology to her for being so harsh."

"Are you sure that's the only reason?" Mario asked. "You'll be touring with her for the next three months, the energy you two had while on stage together seemed to be more than just fellow musicians."

"Well, who knows? Anything can happen over the next three months," Darien replied chuckling. He didn't even realize what he had said.

But it was going to be headline news in all the tabloids the following morning.


	4. Day 2: Tour Bus Awkwardness, Take One

Serena didn't sleep that night. She couldn't. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't fall asleep. There was just too much on her mind for her to find even a sliver of peace. She had performed for the first time in front of a live audience and she had kicked ass. Then there were these fluttering sensations she had whenever she was around Darien now. She had talked it over with her band mates, and they agreed that she was having feelings for him. Feelings, she knew, she couldn't act on if she didn't want things to get terribly messy later down the road. But the problem was, she was going to be with Darien on tour for the next three months. Would she really be able to ignore these feelings for that long? She didn't think that she could, and now knew that there was only one option left.

She had to avoid him at all costs, which you know, shouldn't be _too_ hard if it wasn't for the fact that they would be travelling on the same tour bus together! God, anything could happen on the crowded bus. _Anything._

_Knock, knock!_ She groaned as she crawled out of bed. Who could possibly be at her door this early in the morning? Yes, she didn't sleep the night before, but that didn't mean that these people could interrupt her non-existent sleep…She trudged to the door, not even realizing until she opened it that it could possibly be Darien. She knew that she wasn't the only one that felt their connection last night during their performance. She had seen it in his eyes, and knew that afterwards he was going to want to talk to her about what had happened.

"Serena," Lita said with Nick and Paul behind her. "Let us in, we've got something we need to show you." Serena raised an eyebrow and stood aside to let the three in. They walked into the room and went straight for the sitting room. Lita reached down and picked up the remote turning it on. When it finally warmed up and a picture appeared on the screen, Serena gasped and lost all feeling in her legs. She slumped onto the couch, a hand clamped over her mouth. On the screen was a picture of her and Darien from last night's concert and the word, _DATING?_ underneath. Where had that come from?

"How?" She whispered turning her attention back to her friends. "You guys didn't say anything to Mario last night, did you? Someone didn't overhear our conversation?"

"No, Serena, they took this from Darien himself," Nick explained. "Apparently, he did an interview with Mario last night too and he agreed with Mario that the two of you had chemistry on stage and that anything can happen over the next three months. Serena, I don't think you're alone with your feelings for Darien. I think he might be feeling the same for you."

Serena let this information soak in, and looked up warily at her band mates and friends. She had said last night that she couldn't act on these feelings that she was having towards Darien because if things went horribly wrong, which she had a feeling they just might, the rest of the tour would be insanely awkward. Hell, if things went horribly wrong she might even take herself off the tour, something that she didn't want to do. She loved performing in front of everyone, seeing the audience's reaction to her music, even seeing them sing a long with her lyrics was a major rush. It got her higher than any drug possibly could. She didn't want to give that up.

But now that Darien had made his feelings quite clear, could she really not act upon them? He was right about one thing. They were going to be on the road for three months together and anything could happen. She just hoped that she would be able to execute common sense.

"If he really feels the same for me, than he'll understand why I can't act on these feelings. I'm sticking by what I said last night guys. I won't date Darien while we're still on tour. After, maybe, but not now." She nodded her head as if to believe in her decision and the other three exchanged skeptical looks. They knew Darien had a reputation of a lady's man and knew that if he really had the same feelings Serena did, she wouldn't be able to resist his attempts for long. He always got what he wanted, but the others decided not to tell her that. It would be best to watch how this drama would unfold.

* * *

Darien was actually up that morning by seven. He didn't know why, but he felt a light pep in his step and he was on his way to Serena's room to talk to her about what had happened on stage the night before. The interview that he had done with Mario wasn't even on his mind. He didn't even remember doing it. That was the bad thing of a musician doing an interview _right_ after doing a performance. It was kind of like talking to an actress after she had been out partying all night. Anything could come out of their mouth and should be taken with a grain of salt. Well, mostly and sadly, he was about to receive a rude awakening.

He was on his way towards the door when there was frantic knocking. It sounded as if whoever was on the other side was about to break down his door. He looked through the peephole and saw the members of his band and an enraged Sapphire on the other side. Wondering what they could possibly want, he opened the door.

"Good morning," he greeted. "What exactly are you guys trying to do? Break down my door? What could possibly be so urgent?" He had a smile on his face even though Jason, Mark, Raye and Mina were shaking their heads in warning.

"You want to know what's so urgent?" Sapphire asked, his voice hard and his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets. Darien didn't recall if he ever saw him this pissed off before. "Well, I'll give you a damn clue. Your face is all over the fucking tabloids this morning!" He brought up a copy of a tabloid and shoved it into Darien's face. He stepped back alarmed and wondering what could have possibly been done for him to end up in the tabloids when he saw the headline:

**DARIEN SHIELDS DATING OPENING ACT LEAD SINGER. HAS THE PLAYBOY FINALLY SETTLED DOWN?**

"Um, why don't you come in?" He asked, his smile totally gone as he took the tabloid from Sapphire's hands to get a better look at what was going on. _In an interview last night with Mario Lopez, Darien Shields admitted that there might be more than everyone is seeing between the lead singer of the opening act, Serena and Beautiful Angels Go to Hell, than they have originally let on._ Wait a minute, interview? What interview? He didn't remember giving an interview at any point last night. Especially an interview that said that there was more going on between Serena and him than everyone thought.

"What interview are they talking about?" He asked looking up from the tabloid. The four members of his band looked at him like he had finally lost it. How could he not remember giving the interview?

"Darien, after the set last night, Mario Lopez from _Extra_ talked to you," Sapphire explained. "Please tell me that you remember this?"

"Um, no, and I know the reason why. You said it was right after I had finished performing last night? You know how I get after I'm done performing. It's like I just spent the night out drinking. Anything can come out of my mouth. Good God, has Serena seen this?" He asked his mind already racing. Serena wasn't supposed to find out this way that he had been developing feelings for her. He wanted to discuss it with her like they were adults and not celebrities.

"Why are you concerned about Serena?" Sapphire asked outraged. "You should be worrying more about yourself. Now, I've already demanded an apology from the _Enquirer_ about the 'playboy' comment, but we are going to need to do some serious damage control today while you're on your way to the next city."

"I'm concerned about Serena because this is the first time that her name has been slandered in the tabloids. She needs to…I don't know, to know this isn't true. I need to go talk to her!"

"No, you don't. You need to do some damage control. We don't need your ticket or CD sales to take a hit."

"Besides, Serena can handle herself, Darien," Raye said, knowing that Sapphire wasn't going to let him go to Serena's room. The conversation that he probably needed to have with her would have to wait until they were back on the tour bus later on that morning. Darien looked up helplessly, knowing that Raye was probably right, but at the same time, hoping that Serena wasn't taking any of this seriously. Well, not _too_ seriously.

* * *

Later on that morning, Serena could barely make it out of the hotel without being besieged by the paparazzi. They were all asking the same questions. How long have you known that Darien liked you? Will you start a relationship? How do the other members of your band feel about this relationship? And what does this mean for the rest of the tour? She didn't respond to any of the questions and eventually, security came and escorted her and her band mates through the crowds and to the bus. When she arrived, Darien was not on the bus, much to her relief. Before Nick, Lita, and Paul left her room they had agreed it would be for the best if Darien didn't get the chance to talk to her. At all times this afternoon on the bus, Serena was not to be left alone.

Serena knew though that if Darien really wanted to talk to her, he would find a way to do so around her band mates. But she would rather prolong the inevitable for as long as possible. Maybe during the time, she would be able to figure out what to say. _You have feelings for me? Well, guess what? I do too, but we can't act on them because we're going to be on tour for three months together. If anything goes wrong, it's going to get awkward_ , was the only thing that she had so far. But, a part of her was laughing on the inside because it was _already_ awkward. At least, it was going to be if Darien ever got his ass onto the tour bus!

The said pop star was on his way into the hotel lobby when he saw the massive crowd outside. He sighed and slid on his black aviators. He should have known this was going to happen. He shouldn't have delayed talking to Serena for so long. He should have talked to her during those few days before the tour started. But it just would have been too soon. A hand clamped down onto his shoulder, which caught him by surprise. He turned around only to look straight into Mark's eyes. "It'll be fine," he said before they walked out of the lobby. The cameras started flashing in his face and the reporters began to hound for answers to their questions, but security kept them far enough away so that all Darien had to do was walk past them without saying anything. But in the celebrity universe, silence meant everything. He made it to the door of the bus in no time and climbed on, followed by Mark, Mina, Raye and Jason. Once on the bus he took off his sunglasses and noticed that three pairs of eyes were locked on him.

Nick, Lita, and Paul were staring at him, daring him to come any closer to their table and to the person who they were surrounding. Serena's head was down, a pen in her hand that was scribbling into a notebook - about what, Darien could only deem a guess - and her ear buds from her iPod were in. She wasn't paying him any attention. She was avoiding him.

Well, wasn't this just awkward?

* * *

_Three hours later…_

Serena's band mates hadn't moved in three hours. Serena hadn't moved in three hours and it was really starting to make Darien angry. How else was he supposed to talk to her if she refused to move from her seat surrounded by the crazy baby sitters from hell? He was grounding his teeth in frustration, knowing that it was mostly his fault that Serena was going to such lengths to keep him away from her. But come on! They were going to be together for three months. It couldn't continue on this way. If it did, both of them - hell, every single one of them - would lose their minds. He had to talk to her. He had to clear this up, he had to know if it was possible for Serena to feel the same way he did.

"Darien, what do you think you're doing?" Mina hissed at him. "You can't just sit here and do absolutely nothing. Go talk to her about what happened!"

"How, Mina? If you haven't noticed, she's surrounded by her band. I don't think they'll be leaving her alone anytime soon."

"She has to go to the bathroom eventually," Raye piped in. Darien raised his eyebrows. She had a point. Serena hadn't moved in three hours, but she had been drinking a lot of water and tea. Eventually all of that would force her to go to the bathroom, and he doubted her band would follow her there. He would just have to wait for her to go and when she came out, he'd take her aside and finally talk to her about what had happened.

Serena really needed to pee. It might have been the four water bottles she had, or the two cups of soothing herbal tea that Sapphire had forced down her throat to make sure her voice wasn't lost over the next few weeks. But Serena really had to pee and she couldn't get out of where she was sitting because of Lita. This whole plan of not being alone while on the tour bus was seriously backfiring. How was she supposed to pee, if Lita was in her way?

"Serena, are you okay?" Paul asked causing all eyes to fall on her. She hadn't realized it but because she was trying to 'hold it,' her face had scrunched up, almost as if she was in pain, which in a way she kind of was.

"Yeah, I just really have to go to the bathroom," she replied. "Lita, would you mind moving?" Her tall Amazonian friend nodded and moved from her seat so that Serena could come through. She made her way to the bathroom, thankfully, alone. Not realizing that Darien was watching her the whole way, and had gotten up from his seat to follow her. The door closed, and he lounged by the wall outside the room, waiting patiently for her to come out.

* * *

Serena was checking a nail when she walked out of the bathroom, so maybe that was why she didn't see him standing there, waiting for her. But he soon made his presence known.

"Serena," that all so familiar deep voice said. "I need to talk to you." She looked up startled and right into those deep azure blue eyes. Damn him for being so good looking! She couldn't help but think in her mind. In those eyes though, she found concern. Something she thought she would never see there. What could he possibly be concerned about?

"I figured this was coming," she sighed and nodded her head. They took a seat, near the back of the bus. Serena's friends, seeing this began to walk over, to pull her away from Darien, but she just shook them off. She knew that Darien and her would have to talk, and as she had thought earlier, it was inevitable.

"Look Serena, about that article, or the news story you probably saw this morning, I just want to apologize. That wasn't how I wanted you to find out."

She raised an eyebrow, "How you wanted me to find out?"

"Yes, I actually wanted to talk to you about what had happened last night, well, last night. But when I finished my set, apparently I got hustled off to an interview and I couldn't find you afterwards. Then everything happened."

"Well, talk to me now. What exactly happened last night?" Serena asked. "You invited me up on stage to sing one of your songs with you. You told me to sing only certain parts, but when it was time for you to do your part, I catch you looking at me in surprise. What was that about?"

"I was amazed by your voice again, and I realized that there might be something more here than we're allowing ourselves to admit."

"The chemistry thing."

"Right, the chemistry thing. Don't you feel it too?" He asked looking at her. She didn't respond immediately, causing him to wonder if it was all-just in his head. It was totally possible. He had never truly been in love before, and he didn't know what it felt like.

"Yes, I feel it too," she responded, causing him to do a double take. "But we can't, Darien."

"What? Why not?" He asked confused.

"Because, we're going to be on tour for the next three months together, if something should happen, like we break up or something, it's going to be awkward. And it will be so awkward I would probably leave the tour. Besides you know what people are going to say about me and my band."

"That the only reason you were picked was because I had a thing for you," he finished for her. "It wasn't because of talent." He shook his head. God, he hated the music industry for that. Anyone who had seen Serena perform last night would know that she _had_ gotten in on talent, but if they started dating, they would think it was for other reasons.

"Exactly, that's why we can't, at least for now. Maybe after the tour is over," she shrugged. "But for now, we're just going to have to be friends."

"Friends?"

"Friends," she smiled at him, a smile that he returned. But on the inside he was thinking about how he wanted so much more from her.

So very much more.


	5. Day 9: Song Writing and Phone Calls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't own Sailor Moon! Don't own the songs "Runaway" by P!NK "I Miss You" and "What You Like" by Darren Hayes.

It had been a week. One of the best weeks Serena and Darien ever remembered having. The tour was a hit, and by the third city, the fans were screaming for Serena to make her appearance on stage. Darien and Serena had finally released a joint statement via Sapphire that said that while they were good friends they weren't dating and had no intentions to date. This was very disappointing amongst the fans, but Serena didn't mind. They were going to be in for a shock when she and him _did_ finally start dating, but that wouldn't be for a long while yet. Darien was with the fans on this one, not that Serena knew this of course, but he understood the reasoning behind her decision. Things could get awkward if they broke up half way though the tour.

But they kept the fans guessing, each chance they got, by performing a duet of some previously agreed upon cover song, or even one of Darien's songs on stage in each city. It was the best thing in the world, and Serena was still getting high off of the thrill. On this particular day, Serena and her band mates were on stage in the latest city practicing future songs, and some old ones that Serena had written two years ago. She didn't really like performing these songs because it reminded her of the past and there were some things in her past that she just didn't want to remember. Hell, those songs were too _painful_ to remember. Nick and Lita knew that these songs weren't her favorite to practice, but they wanted her to practice them because she was going to have to freshen up her sets for future cities. She couldn't get away with performing the same five songs all the time.

They had just gone through one of the songs for the seventh time already, when Serena missed a word in the second verse. The music stopped and she began to swear profusely. She hated doing these songs, and she shouldn't have to perform them. She shouldn't have even written them in the first place. But things had been really horrible back then, she didn't know what to do with herself, and she needed some sort of release from all the pressure that was building around her. Hence, the worst three songs of her life were born. They were raw, powerful, emotional, but they brought up really bad memories for Serena. Memories that made her want to take a…

 _No_ , she thought to herself. It wouldn't do to go back to that dark place that she had been in two years ago. She was older now, wiser, and she was supposed to be passed all this garbage. What happened two years ago didn't matter anymore. It was in the past, and it couldn't hurt her anymore. It _wouldn't_ hurt her anymore. She looked up from the piano and into the eyes of Nick, who was looking at her with a hint of remorse. Great, that's all she needed, was for him to pity her. It would have been worse if _he_ were there to pity her too.

"Serena, I know you don't like this song, but you really need to perform it," he told her. "The audience needs to see that there is another side to you that sings emotional ballads, and songs with deeper meaning than those of 'For Your Entertainment.' So, come on, let's go through this one, one more time?" She sighed and nodded her head and let him start the music again.

 _I've got my things packed, my favorite pillow_  
_Got my sleeping bag, climb out the window_  
 _All the pictures and pain, I've left behind_  
 _All the freedom and fame, I've gotta find_  
 _And I wonder, how long it will take them_  
 _To notice that I'm gone_  
 _And I wonder, how far it'll take me_  
 _To run away, it don't make any sense to me_  
 _Run away, this life makes no sense to me_  
 _Run away, it don't make any sense to me_  
 _Run away, it don't make any sense to me_  
 _I was just trying to be myself, have it your way, I'll meet you in hell_  
 _It's all these secrets that I shouldn't tell, I've got to run away_  
 _It's hypocritical of you, do as you say not as you do_  
 _I'll never be your perfect girl, I've got to run away_

* * *

Darien didn't realize that Serena and her band were at the stage that afternoon practicing for their upcoming gig, when he walked into the auditorium. But when he heard the unfamiliar melodies of the song and Serena's voice belting out amazing lyrics, he wondered if he should go back to the hotel. But he decided against it when he listened to the song that she was singing. He had never heard her sing this song before, and he didn't think that it was on the album. It showed a different range of her vocals, almost like the range she used when performing his songs, and it made him want to see her. For some reason, her back was turned to him and he could sense an emotion in this song that he didn't hear in the others. She almost sounded like she was in pain.

 _Well, I'm too young to be taken seriously_  
_But I'm too old to believe all this hypocrisy_  
 _And I wonder, how long it will take them to see my bed is made_  
 _And I wonder_  
 _If I was a mistake, I might have nowhere left to go_  
 _But I know that I cannot go home_  
 _These words are strapped inside my head_  
 _Tell me to run before I'm dead_  
 _Chase the rainbows in my mind_  
 _And I will try to stay alive_  
 _Maybe the world will know one day_  
 _Why won't you help me run away_  
 _It don't make any sense to me, run away_  
 _This life makes no sense to me, run away_

He was frowning. He couldn't help it. This song was definitely something different then the other songs that she had performed and recorded over the last three weeks. It sounded more personable. Like she was actually singing from the deepest part of her heart. Why hadn't she done this song before?

 _I could sing for change on a Paris street_  
_Be a red light dancer in New Orleans_  
 _I could start again to the family_  
 _I could change my name, come and go as I please_  
 _In the dead of night_  
 _You'll wonder where I've gone_  
 _Wasn't it you, wasn't it you_  
 _Wasn't it you that made me run away_  
 _I was just trying to be myself, have it your way I'll meet you in hell_  
 _All these secrets that I shouldn't tell, I've got to run away_  
 _Hypocritical of you, do as you say not as you do_  
 _Never be your perfect girl, I've got to run away_

The music finished and Darien found himself clapping. Serena, who hadn't heard him come in, turned around so fast she almost lost her balance. When Darien finally saw her face, he almost gasped. Her face was tear streaked, her eyes red from crying. He had said that this song had sounded like she was singing from the deepest part of her heart, and apparently she had been. What exactly was this song describing that caused her to be so emotional? He had never seen her cry before, and it sort of unnerved him. A few minutes had lapsed, in that time span, Darien had walked onto the stage and was now standing closer to Serena and was able to see her tear stained cheeks even more clearly. He wanted to comfort her, he wanted to know what had happened that made her cry.

"Are you okay?" Were the first words out of his mouth and she only stared at him like he absolutely lost his mind, which in a way he had. Usually when girls cried around him, he would run in the other direction, but for some reason he wanted to comfort her. He wanted to take her in his arms and let her cry into his chest. He wanted to soothe her.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she replied, her voice cracking a little bit on the last part of it. "I didn't know you were coming to the stage today… What are you doing here anyway?" She asked, making a horrible attempt to change the subject. If she had known that he was going to be there, she would have continued to practice her usual stuff. Not the stuff from two years ago, stuff that would bring up questions that she didn't want to answer. Her past was not something that she wanted to be brought up or discussed.

"I was going to try and write some music," he replied, sensing that whatever had just happened with that song, Serena didn't want to discuss it. So he wasn't going to push, if she ever wanted to talk about it, he'd be there for her. "But if you'd rather continue practicing, I'm sure my writing can wait."

"Having problems?" Serena asked, grateful that he was letting that song go.

"Only every time I sit down to write something. It sounds really good in my head, but when I write it down and try to sing it to a melody later it just doesn't sound right."

"Hm…" she trailed off eyeing the journal that he was holding in his hand. She was real particular about this kind of stuff. A songwriter's journal was the most personal thing someone owned. It was like a regular person's journal, only way more intense. There were certain protocols that she felt that people needed to go through if they wanted to take a peek inside. "Well, I could try and help you, if you want?"

"You know, why not?" Darien replied. "It couldn't hurt, besides it would be nice to have a woman's perspective about these songs. Just don't try to judge me, okay?" He placed the journal on the piano and waited for her to open it and begin to read the lyrics that were inside. It was kind of nerve wracking for him to just stand there while she read his inner most thoughts. He wanted her to like the lyrics. He wanted her approval.

Serena was shocked that he had agreed to let her read his lyrics so quickly. If it had been her, she would have put up more of a fight, but her songs were basically her blood on the pages. Disturbing, yes, but they made for really nice songs. She flipped open the black hardcover journal that he had laid out on the piano and began to skim the lyrics. They weren't that bad and could easily make a really beautiful song, so what was he going on about? She raised her eyes and met his, and he looked nervous. Something that she was able to understand, she would have been nervous too if he had been reading her journal.

"Okay, so wait. You say that these lyrics just don't sound right when you put them to a melody?" She asked trying to figure out what the problem was exactly. He looked up stunned. She had read through the lyrics that quickly and wasn't mocking him for them?

"Uh, yeah, that's the problem," he replied his jaw slacked. Would she ever stop amazing him? He shook his head.

"Well, would you mind if I tried messing with some melodies?"

"No, go ahead," he replied and watched as she sat on the piano bench her fingers poised over the keys. She played a few chords, but then tried something else. While she was trying to figure out the melody, he took in her appearance. She was always in jeans and a t-shirt or tank top when he saw her, but today she was wearing a deep purple pull over hoodie. She looked comfortable and her brunette hair was slowly fading. There were many blonde streaks appearing in her hair. This caused him to wonder, not for the first time about her hair. "Your natural hair color is coming back, I noticed."

"Yeah, it is," she replied looking up briefly from the keys of the piano.

"Are you going to dye it again?"

"Nah, I'm just going to keep it this way. Since it was such a controversy before the tour and all," she smiled at him, letting him know that she was only teasing him. He returned the smile and let her go back to work. After awhile, she played a little something and he looked up to find her staring at him. "What do you think?" She asked after she had finished playing.

"That sounds amazing," he replied. "But I'm not sure if it will work…"

"Well, sing some of the lyrics," she moved the journal towards him. She counted to three and began playing the melody again. He waited a few beats and tried the first lyric of the song.

_Gimme a reason  
Why I'm feeling so blue_

He stopped and shook his head. "See, what I mean? It doesn't sound right."

"Mind if I try?" Serena asked looking him in the eyes. "Because I don't think you're synching with the melody right." She looked almost apologetic, as if she was sorry that she was insulting his music and he couldn't help but wonder why. He had been crueler to her when she had auditioned for him and he had _not_ been apologetic about it until later. But for some reason she was being sincere. It was strange.

"Yeah, sure, go ahead," he replied ushering her to perform his song. Besides he wanted to hear her beautiful voice sing his lyrics. It made him feel… he didn't know how it made him feel. All he knew was that he really wanted to hear her sing it. She pushed the journal back over, so that way she could read the lyrics easier and then began to play again.

 _Gimme a reason_  
_Why I'm feeling so blue_  
 _Every time I close my eyes all I see is you_  
 _Gimme a reason_  
 _Why I can't feel my heart  
Every time you leave my side I just fall apart  
And when you're fast asleep I wonder where you go  
Can you tell me, I want to know?  
_' _cause I miss you_  
_This is all I wanna say_  
 _I guess I miss you beautiful_  
 _These three words just say it all_  
 _You know I miss you_  
 _I think about you when you're gone_  
 _I guess I miss you nothings wrong_  
 _I don't need to carry on_

She stopped playing and looked up at him, but his mouth was open in awe. How was it that she was able to turn a song that he thought would just end up as a crumpled up page on the floor, into an amazing love ballad? Serena just smiled sheepishly at him.

"I'm taking that as a good sign?" She asked, totally oblivious to how she had sounded right then. But Darien was about to inform her, and inform her quickly.

"Yes, it is a real good sign," he replied. "God, where have you've been hiding out all my life?" It was supposed to be taken as a joke, or light warmed humor, but after everything that had happened over the week, it was taken a little bit too seriously. And Darien knew it as the words had left his lips. A light blush appeared on her cheeks and she looked away. He tried to explain what he had meant but she looked back at him with a smile on her face.

"I was hiding out in a little hick town in the middle of nowhere," she replied. "But some things went down and I realized I had to get the hell out of dodge and try to make it big. So Nick, Paul and I packed up our stuff the day after graduation and hoped onto a bus to LA." The smile on her face faltered a little bit. Darien wanted to know why, but Serena had seemed distant before when he had walked in on them earlier. And he had a feeling it had to deal with what happened in the past.

"Then I found them," Lita replied.

"Yeah, she did," Nick said. "We were struggling musicians trying to find a job and a band to play in. The only thing we had going for us was that we were high school graduates, but in the job market it didn't get us far. But we happened to walk into a diner that night and sit at just the right table. The rest is history."

Serena rolled her eyes, but the smile was back on her face. Darien couldn't help but smile back at her. There was more of a story there, he could tell, but he didn't know if he should ask for more information. Serena's past seemed to be a touchy subject for her and he didn't know what was off limits.

"Speaking of back home…" Paul breached the subject for him. "Serena, have you been in contact with your parents since we left?"

"Not really," she admitted, her smile gone again. "I spoke to them quickly the night we left. They didn't agree with what we were doing and they didn't want me to go, but after everything… I told them it was time that I made my own decisions. Music was what I wanted to do with my life, and I didn't want to stay in that town with all those memories…" she trailed off and met Darien's curious gaze. But he didn't say anything, something that Serena was grateful for. "So, you really like the music?"

"Yeah, that's amazing," he said. "You really do have a talent, Serena, and um…would you mind helping me with another song?" It was weird for him to ask for something, especially help with music, but she really did have a talent and since he just couldn't get things to work, it was better to get her help. Besides she was always free to say no.

"If you'd like, sure," she replied. "What other song would you like my help with?" The journal was pushed back to Darien, and he flipped it to the page that contained the new song lyrics. He pushed it back to her and she took a look at it and did a quick read through. Paul, Lita, and Nick, sensing that Darien and Serena were going to be at this awhile decided to leave them in peace.

"I should have probably asked," she said after awhile of tinkering with the keys. "But is this a fast paced kind of song, or more of a ballad?"

"Um, it's kind of a mix of both," he replied, taken back by the question. "Kind of like that song that you were performing before I walked in." She looked up in alarm at the mention of earlier, and he immediately regretted saying anything. "Um…sorry…but, yeah, it's like that." Her head turned back down to the keys and began playing another melody.

"Sounds really good," he said after a few minutes. "How do you do that so easily? It usually takes me hours to get the right melody and then some more hours to tinker the song so it fits."

"I really don't know," she admitted shrugging her shoulders. "It just happens. I read a song or I write a song, and I can hear the melody playing in the background. It's weird, but it works, you know?"

"Obviously it does. So, can I ask you to sing it again?"

"You want me to sing it?" Serena asked surprised.

"Yeah, why not?"

"Um, how about this? You sing the first verse and I'll sing the second. Sound good?" Darien was a little hesitant, because he knew what song that they were about to do and it was a little maturer than his usual stuff, and to sing it with Serena right there? Oh, man, he had to make sure he kept himself in check. With a great reluctance he nodded his head and she began to play again. He waited and began to sing.

_I wanna thank you my friend, for making me feel worthwhile_   
_Sweeter than the honey in your lips_   
_And kindness in your smile_   
_Hand in hand we float across the room_   
_Explosions deep inside_   
_And cheek to cheek there's clouds underneath my feet_   
_There's only you and I_   
_Please tell me what you like_   
_Does that feel nice?_   
_Give me a sign_   
_If you love it I can do it again_   
_We got the rest of the night to get it right_   
_Please tell me what you like_   
_If that feels nice_   
_Give me a sign_   
_If you love it I can do it again_   
_We've got the rest of our lives to get it right_

Serena nodded her head, and continued playing. Darien took a deep breath and waited for her to do her part. While he was singing he knew that it hadn't sounded right, and could only wonder what she was going to do.

_Looking back on lonely nights_   
_Searching for love again_   
_I always knew my journey began and ended with you my friend_   
_Softer than your butterfly kisses_   
_And stronger than my desire_   
_I want to thank you my friend for making me feel alive_   
_Please tell me what you like_   
_Does that feel nice?_   
_Give me a sign_   
_If you love it I can do it again_   
_We've got the rest of the night to get it right_   
_Please tell me what you like_   
_If that feels nice_   
_Give me a sign_   
_If you love it I can do it again_   
_We've got the rest of our lives to get it right_

Her phone began to go off and she stopped playing, which was fortunate for Darien because he was about to lose his mind. Either that or do something incredibly stupid. She gave him an apologetic smile and got up from the piano bench to answer her phone. She checked the screen to see who was calling and saw Lita's name flash across the screen. What could Lita possibly have to talk to her about that couldn't wait? She was really connecting with Darien here.

"Lita, what's going on?" She answered.

"Serena, we were just looking through the schedule of the shows that we're doing, the cities we're stopping in, and well…" she trailed off. "We're going to be performing in two days near your hometown."

"Okay? So?" Serena asked confused as to why she should be concerned with performing near her hometown. Yes, she hadn't been home in awhile but that didn't mean that she didn't want to go home. It would probably be nice to go home, unless…

"Sere, _he's_ coming to the show."

Well shit. "What do you mean, _he's_ coming to the show? How do you even know _he's_ coming?"

"We were curious and well, we talked to Sapphire who has a list of all the people who are going to be allowed backstage during the show, and _his_ name is on the list. He's got backstage passes and everything." Serena felt her world was beginning to spin out of control. How was it possibly for _him_ to get backstage passes to her show? _He_ wasn't supposed to even be out yet! "Serena?" Lita, Nick and Paul said simultaneously. Apparently she was on speakerphone.

"Do I even want to know how _he_ was able to get tickets?" She finally asked after a few minutes.

"We don't know, but _he_ does. So what do you want to do about it? Obviously you can't perform the usual songs for this concert, unless you want to give _him_ the wrong idea…"

"Absolutely not," she answered fast. Her voice was stern and she was really starting to get pissed off. She had thought that she had put this behind her, but apparently it was coming back to bite her in the ass. "We're going to have to do what we've been practicing all afternoon."

"Serena?"

"We're going to have to do my old songs. Songs I didn't think I would ever have to perform."


	6. Day 11: Royal Oak, MI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Sailor Moon! I don't own "U + UR Hand" and "Long Way to Happy" by P!nk. I would also like to apologize to Chad for using him as a character in this chapter. Also, please be forewarned the language and content of this chapter are a little strong.

Something was wrong with Serena. Lita, Paul, Nick and Darien were the first to notice the change in the singer. A few hours ago, she had been chatting happily with Lita and Nick about something that had happened years ago, and she had been laughing. But when Dave, the bus driver, said that they were entering Michigan and would be at the hotel in three hours, Serena stopped laughing. She became very still, the water bottle she had in her hands creaked as she tightened her grip. Nick, Paul and Lita threw concerned glances her way and then exchanged knowing looks with each other.

Darien knew something was going on and the looks between her band mates only solidified that notion in his head. Serena was usually peppy and wouldn't stop talking, but now she was quiet as a mouse? What the hell was going on? Not to mention what had happened a few days ago while they were writing music together…

_***Flashback*** _

_Serena's cell phone going off was perfect timing. If it hadn't gone off, Darien would have ended up doing something really stupid. Sure, his gut was telling him to go for it, he had nothing to lose because she had admitted that she liked him too. But his brain was telling him to leave it alone. Serena had to trust him. If he kept jumping her when they were alone together, she would make sure to keep her distance and not be alone with him._

_He groaned as he felt another headache coming on. This was getting_ way _too complicated. Now Darien remembered why he liked his playboy persona. He slept with a girl, left her the next morning, and dealt with the fall out with the tabloids, which always increased his record sales. He didn't have to worry about damaging someone else's reputation…well, at least he didn't_ care _about ruining someone else's reputation._

_Darien looked up, and saw Serena walk back to him. But something was different, the light in her eyes was gone and the smile she had on had disappeared as well. Her lips were now in a straight line and she looked like she was going to be sick._

_"Are you okay?" He asked, concerned._

_"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "But I do have to go."_

_"Oh, well, okay," he was a little surprised that she was leaving, but after the way she was looking, he could somewhat understand._

_"I'm sorry." She tried to smile apologetically at him, but it just looked like a grimace. As she turned around to leave he heard her mutter, "Your past would come back to haunt you and bite you in the ass…"_

_Darien watched her leave, staring at her openmouthed. What exactly had she meant by that?_

_***End of Flashback*** _

Serena's past, that seemed to be the center of all her mood changes. Darien couldn't help but think. During their song writing session Paul had mentioned her parents and the look that she had gotten in her eyes resembled that of the look she had worn later that evening. What exactly happened to Serena before she came to LA?

"You all right there, Darien?" Mina asked, noticing how quiet he had been. He looked over to her shocked that he had zoned out while staring at Serena. He really needed to stop his mind from wandering. "Oh, never mind. I didn't realize you were having a staring contest with Serena."

"I wasn't," Darien argued. "I was just…" he sighed. How exactly was he supposed to tell them his concerns about Serena without sounding like an overprotective boyfriend? "I just noticed that Serena doesn't look like she's feeling too well. Did you guys notice that?"

"Yeah, she seemed to shut up as soon as Dave said we were in Michigan. Wonder what's going on?" Jason asked looking over at the blonde-brunette (more of Serena's natural hair color was coming through).

"It's probably none of our business," Mark interceded. "It's Serena's business and we don't have the right to snoop through that. If she wants us to know, she'll tell us herself." Darien wanted to reply to that, but Mark was hard on his sentiments. Serena's business. Don't butt in. But wasn't it also Darien's business? Because if what was going on with her prevented her from giving a hundred percent…

"Just talk to her already," Raye snapped. Darien chuckled. Raye was always the voice of reason. He got up from his seat and was walking towards Serena when the bus came to a stop.

"All right, we're here," Sapphire announced. "Now there are members of the press out in front of the hotel. Speak to some of them, and Serena and Darien, if they ask any questions about your relationship just play if off or don't answer the question at all." He disappeared and Serena got up to follow him. Before she walked off though, Darien noticed the black sunglasses covering her eyes and the mangled water bottle she left behind.

* * *

 

Sapphire had forgot to mention that along with members of the press, there were also multitudes of fans that were screaming as Serena emerged from the bus. She threw on a smile and waved, even though she didn't feel like smiling. She felt all the fans' eyes on her, but there was someone else staring at her. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end, but she needed to ignore it. There was no way _he'd_ risk being here, out in the open, with the media watching everything. But of course that might be what _he_ wanted; to reveal her ugly past on national television, before she could. She shook her head to shake herself out of her thoughts. It wouldn't do to think about that right now. It happened in her past and if _he_ was here right now there was nothing she could do to stop _him_. Well, not nothing…

"Serena!" One of the reporters exclaimed coming forward with a microphone and a cameraman. "Welcome to Royal Oak!"

"Thanks! It's great to be here!" Serena replied with fake enthusiasm. Stupid reporters. All she wanted to do was run into the hotel and to her room and stay there until the show tonight. But she knew better. Since she was here and all…

"I know that a _lot_ of fans are wondering…you've been quoted as saying that tonight's show is going to be different than the other shows you've been doing over the course of the tour. How is it going to be different?"

"Well, I like to think of my music as different chapters of my life. _For Your Entertainment_ is, of course, the latest chapter, but tonight's show I'm going to go back to a dark chapter of my past."

"Wow, it sounds amazing and we can't wait, but why are you choosing to go back into your past tonight?"

"It's a good question. But, I'm surprised nobody knows the answer. I'm choosing to go back tonight, because this is kind of my past."

"This meaning?" The reporter asked, confused.

"This city," she ushered around. "I grew up in a city not far from here. So you can say that tonight is like my homecoming. That's why this show is going to be different." She looked at the reporter and smiled, knowing that the reporter wanted to ask more questions, but she waved and walked away before the reporter got the chance to. However, as she walked, she felt that prickling at the back of her neck again. She looked up and around.

That's when she saw _him_. She felt her feet freeze to the ground. She couldn't move and her heart was barely beating. _He_ really had chanced coming out. What the _hell_ was _he_ thinking? Memories began flashing through her mind as _he_ continued to hold her gaze.

_His hot breath tickled her face, but the smell of sour beer made her want to vomit. He was too close to her for comfort and his hands were making it very clear what his intentions were._

_"Ssh, it's going to be okay, Sere. I'm not going to hurt you." His finger dipped below her waistband…_

Tears were forming in her eyes as she tried to fight back those memories. Luckily no one saw them because of her sunglasses, but people had noticed that she wasn't moving. She was just standing there, looking like an idiot to everyone, but like she had seen a ghost to Lita, Nick, Paul, and Darien. She unstuck herself from the ground, her heart beginning to beat to its normal pace again. But she couldn't get _him_ out of her mind.

She turned her back and almost ran into the hotel lobby. _He_ couldn't follow her there, she was safe. Lita, Paul and Nick followed her inside to comfort her, which she was thankful for. She needed them right now.

* * *

 

Darien, who had witnessed all of this, was again very curious as to what Serena had seen. One minute she was smiling and talking to a reporter, the next she was frozen staring off towards the fans. All the color had drained from her face and her mouth had popped open a tiny bit in horror. As soon as she had fled to the safety of the hotel, Darien had turned to find what she was staring at.

Standing in the crowd of fans was a tall man with reddish hair and a smirk on his face. He turned and walked away, but not before he caused Darien to wonder whom in the world he was, and what he meant to Serena?

Serena was on the verge of freaking out. Lita, Paul, and Nick were sitting around her trying to comfort her, but she wasn't listening. She had finally seen _him_ after two years, and after telling herself that she was going to be able to handle it, she couldn't. She was so close to having a nervous breakdown again and also very close to cancelling her performance that night. But that would bring up questions from Darien and the media. Questions that she didn't want to answer.

* * *

 

"Serena, it's over, he can't hurt you anymore. We won't let him get that close to you. I swear," Nick said trying to console her.

"I know you won't," she replied honestly. "But that's not why I'm freaking out."

"Why are you freaking out?" Paul asked.

"Because of how care free he was! You didn't see him, guys. He was standing there almost laughing at me. Taunting me, saying that after everything that happened, he wins because he got out and is making me afraid to go out there and perform. How can I perform when I _know_ he's out there, in the audience, watching me? Undressing me in his mind?"

"He didn't win though, did he? He went to jail. He was put on the sex offender's list. I doubt he was able to get a job with that kind of background. The only victory he will get, Serena, is if you let him scare you into not performing. You don't think he'll know it's because of him? Don't do that, Serena. Don't let him win." Lita said, her voice strong. Out of the three she was the one who got through to Serena.

"You're right," she whispered after awhile. "I can't let him believe that he's won. That he has any power over me. That's why I'm doing those songs tonight. To prove to him that it's done and that even though I claim to be here for your entertainment, I'm not here for his." She got up and went to the phone, leaving three shocked band members in her wake.

"Hey, Sapphire, I need a car," she said into the phone.

* * *

 

Darien was determined to talk to Serena before the concert and he wasn't going to let her avoid the issue. He wanted to know about her past and he wanted to know whom the hell that guy was from earlier. Why did he have such an effect on her? He stopped in front of her hotel room door, hand raised to knock and determined not to leave until he got the answers he came for, when Serena opened the door. She looked up at him shocked, a car key dangling from her hand. Darien didn't know what to say. How had she gotten a car key and where was she going?

"Darien," she greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you that. Where did you get a car key? And where are you going?"

"Look, I don't want to talk about it, but if that's all you wanted, I gotta go." She closed the door to her hotel room and walked down the hallway. Darien, remembering that he wasn't leaving without some answer, fell into step beside her. She looked up surprised.

"Darien, what do you think you're doing?"

"I'm coming with you," he replied.

"But you don't even know where I'm going."

"Well, you could always tell me," he replied smiling at her. She rolled her eyes. She should have known that he would reply with that. This _was_ Darien Shields after all. But he looked determined to follow her and find out where she was going. Should she try and ditch him? Or would it be good if he came with her? He was going to find out anyway, especially if they were going to date later after the tour.

She sighed, "All right, fine, you can come. But don't ask where we're going."

"Why not?" He asked surprised.

"Because I'm not sure where we're going." It was the truth. Serena didn't know if she would be able to actually go down there, but she had to at least _try_. Besides, if she chickened out she could always give Darien a tour. She did grow up around here after all.

* * *

 

The car ride was surprisingly silent. Serena was paying attention to the road, while Darien was watching her drive. He was very curious to know how she knew her way around. He didn't see any maps and the GPS wasn't even on. She knew her way around too well.

He was about to ask, when he noticed Serena's grip on the steering wheel tightened after she made a turn onto a street. He looked around and saw many houses. They had turned into a neighborhood. He frowned as she continued to drive. What were they doing here? Did Serena know someone? Was she surprising a fan? Eventually, she pulled off to the side of the street, parking the car in front of a one-story house with a black mailbox in front. She turned the ignition off, but didn't make any movements to get out of the car.

"Um, Serena, where are we?" He asked finally.

"In a neighborhood," she replied. He waited for her to say more but she didn't. He tried again.

"So, how exactly did you know how to get here? I see you weren't following a map or the GPS."

She chuckled, "Yeah, well…" she trailed off and then sighed. "You really want to know what's going on here, I can tell. So, I'll tell you. The reason I knew how to get here is because these were my old stomping grounds. And this house," she pointed to the one they were parked in front of. "Is where I lived until I left two years ago. I don't even know why I decided to come back here. I know what's going to happen the moment I walk through those doors…" she trailed off again and Darien didn't know what to say. One of the mysteries had been solved. He finally understood why she was acting so weird, but that still left one. Who was that guy from earlier?

Serena sighed and unbuckled her seat belt. It was now or never. She had come all this way…it was time to see her parents. She took the key out of the ignition and opened the door. As she emerged from the car, she took in her surroundings. The neighborhood hadn't changed much since she left. But she did notice that the house next to her old home on the left was up for sale again. She walked up the driveway, her heart beating faster with each step she took. Darien was right behind her, as if knowing that she needed his support right now, which in a strange way, she did.

A dog barking right in front of her startled her right out of her thoughts. Serena looked down and saw a golden retriever, who immediately barked again, happily staring up at her.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Heidi. How've you been, girl?" She asked, kneeling down to pet the dog. The dog's tail wagged excitedly.

"Friend of yours?" Darien asked a smile on his face. Serena had the darkest expression on her face, but once the dog had shown up, it had lightened considerably.

"You can say that. Heidi was the neighbor's dog, speaking of, where is that master of yours, Heidi? I have to give him a stern talking to." The dog barked again, almost answering her.

"HEIDI!" A man's voice exclaimed. "Where are you, girl?" Darien looked up and saw a man appear from in between the two houses. "Oh, there you are! Did you jump at these two people?" He came forward and smiled apologetically at Serena and Darien. "Sorry about that. Usually, Heidi doesn't get this excited."

"It's all right, Chad. You really can't blame her for greeting an old friend, can you?" Serena asked, standing up. The man, Chad, did a double take, shocked to see her there.

"Serena, is that you?"

"Yeah, long time no see."

"Long time no see? That's all you have to say to me after two years? I mean, seriously, Serena, you could have at least said good-bye."

"Sorry," she shrugged. "There just wasn't any time. I had to leave before my parents tried to change my mind."

Chad nodded, "Yeah, I get it, but you're back now. You're here to see Mari and Walt, right?"

"That's the plan…" she looked up at the house and shuddered.

"Don't be so concerned, Sere, they missed you a lot. They were worried sick about you, too. Almost gave them a heart attack when they saw your music video on TV."

"Wait, they saw that?"

"The whole neighborhood did. We've been watching for you since you left, and when they saw the video and the news that you were opening on tour…well, we were rather excited. I'm Chad, by the way, a very old friend of Serena's." He stuck out a hand for Darien to shake.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm…"

"There's no need to tell me who you are, Darien Shields." He smiled. "Well, I don't want to keep you two, so I'll be going."

"Okay, thanks, Chad."

"Not a problem. Come on, Heidi!" The dog followed his master, but not before licking Serena's hand. She watched them disappear between the two houses again, before looking back at her old home. Now there was _definitely_ no turning back. She resumed the walk up the front walk, and stepped up onto the porch.

"No matter what happens," she said to Darien. "Don't judge me." She ringed the doorbell and waited. They heard footsteps on the other side of the door, the turning of the lock, and then, a woman with blonde hair like Serena's answered the door. Her eyes were wide, her mouth opened in shock.

"Serena?" The woman asked.

"Hi, mom," she replied smiling. "Can we come in?"

"Of course," her mother said and opened the storm door to admit them inside. Serena walked in and Darien wasn't far behind. Her mother closed the door behind them and led them to the kitchen.

"Who was at the door, Mari?" A man, who Darien could only assume was Serena's father, asked from the family room. Serena looked in and saw him sitting on the couch in front of the TV. An entertainment news program was playing and there was Serena's face.

"And Darien Shields' summer tour is making a stop tonight in Royal Oak, Michigan. Our very own Emerald Collins caught up with the lead singer of Beautiful Angels Go to Hell, Serena." The interview that Serena did before walking into the hotel played onto the screen. After it was done, her father shook his head.

"You would think, because she is so close to home, she would come by and visit us. But I guess she really does want nothing to do with us."

"Who said that I want nothing to do with you?" Serena asked stepping into the room. Her father looked up shocked.

"Serena?"

"Hi, dad," she replied. "I was in the neighborhood and decided to stop by. I hope that's okay…"

"Of course it is," her dad said getting up from the couch. "You're always welcomed here…" he gave her a hug. "Would you like something to drink?" They walked back into the kitchen, where Darien was sitting at the table, her mother sitting across from him.

"Dad, this is Darien Shields…"

* * *

 

They had been sitting at the table for twenty minutes, and only ten of those minutes had been horribly awkward. They had talked about how Serena was, how the tour was going and so on. But then they lapsed into silence. Darien could tell that something was going on beneath the pleasantries and he wondered what it was. Serena noticed it too, but she knew what was really going on. Her parents were putting on an act. The only reason why they weren't laying into her about how she left two years ago was because Darien was there. They didn't want to air their dirty laundry in front of company.

"Um… where's your bathroom?" Darien finally asked standing up from the table. He couldn't take the strained silence anymore. Serena and her parents needed to talk and he had a feeling that once he was out of the room, they would be able to do so.

"First door on your right," Serena's mom replied.

"Thank you," he walked out of the kitchen. As soon as they heard the door shut, Serena turned to her parents.

"Okay, you can drop the act now…"

* * *

 

Darien splashed some cold water onto his face, hoping that it would help him find some sanity. He was actually in Serena's old home. He had met her parents. He had never met girl's parents before. Sure, once upon a time, in high school maybe. But that was years ago. This was so surreal. He opened the door and walked out into the hallway, but stopped when he realized the door across from the bathroom was closed and had colorful paper on it. This had to be Serena's room. Looking down the hallway he figured that they wouldn't be missing him anytime soon, so he turned the doorknob and walked in.

There were posters _everywhere_. Mostly of just a few people and the bookcases… they would put some libraries to shame. So Serena had been a reader when she lived here. He went in to examine further, but that's when it happened.

The screaming.

"How dare you just leave like that! In the middle of the night and only leaving a twelve-word note! We were worried sick!"

"Yeah? And you know what would have happened if I hadn't left in the middle of the night? You would have forced me to stay! That's not what I wanted. I wasn't going to stay here after everything that happened to me!"

"So what? You know that this life isn't what we wanted for you! We wanted you to go to college, make a respectable living!" Her mother explained. Darien stood in the doorway to Serena's room pursing his lips. He knew that there were things that they had to catch up on. But he didn't know they would be _this_ intense.

"And what do you think I'm doing now? Flipping burgers at McDonalds? No, I'm on the biggest summer tour right now in the country. I made it in the music business!"

"You call this making it?" Her father finally butted into the conversation. "We saw the music video that you released. You're selling yourself as a common whore! That isn't talent. No wonder that shit went down the year you left. You brought it upon yourself!" There was silence, and Darien could only imagine Serena's face. What kind of thing was that to say to your own daughter? No wonder she had been acting a little bit crazy since they arrived in Michigan.

"I can't believe you just said that to me," he heard her reply. Her voice was hoarse and he knew that she was crying. "You see if I ever come home again. Darien?" She called out. He walked back down the hall. "Come on, we're leaving." She turned her back on her parents and walked back down the hall and to the front door from which they came.

* * *

 

The car ride back was as silent as the car ride there, the only difference between the two was that Serena was crying and had Darien drive them back with her help. Darien couldn't blame her for crying and just let her. He didn't know what had happened the year that Serena had left, but obviously it was some really bad shit. He didn't feel like it was his place to ask her, but he did know the people that he was going to ask.

Before the concert began, Darien was able to take Nick and Paul aside to talk to them. They were a little curious at first, wondering what he could possibly want but when he finally asked the question that he had been keeping bottled up inside all afternoon, they weren't too happy about it.

"What happened to Serena, before she left home?"

* * *

 

The familiar concert buzz was going throughout the people outside and backstage. The only difference was that Serena was nervous and not for the reason that some would think. She wasn't nervous because she was back in her hometown, it was because of who was outside waiting in the crowd that was making her nervous. That and the songs that she was going to be doing since no one had ever heard them before.

"Serena! Come on, you're on!" A stagehand exclaimed placing a microphone in her hand. The stand that she was going to need was further out on stage. But that song wouldn't be for a while. First it was an antecedent to "For Your Entertainment." She took a deep breath. No matter what happened tonight, she knew that _he_ wasn't going to be able to get anywhere near her. Lita, Paul and Nick wouldn't allow it.

She stepped out on stage to a round of thunderous applause and she began to sing.

 _Check it out going out, on the late night  
Looking tight, feeling nice, it's a cockfight  
I can tell, I just know that's it's going down  
Tonight  
At the door we don't wait 'cause we know them  
At the bar, six shots just beginning  
That's when dick head put his hands on me  
But you see  
I'm not here for your entertainment  
You don't really wanna mess with me tonight  
Just stop and take a second  
I was fine before you walked into my life  
_ ' _Cause you know it's over_  
_Before it began_  
_Keep your drink, just give me the money_  
_It's just you and your hand tonight_

Surprisingly enough, the crowd was eating it up. So Serena continued to sing, not seeing the glares that she was receiving from _him_ and the curious gaze she was getting from Darien.

 _Midnight, I'm drunk, I don't give a fuck  
Wanna dance by myself  
Guess you're out of luck  
Don't touch, back up, I'm not the one  
Bye-bye  
Listen up, it's just not happening  
You can say what you want to your boyfriends  
Just let me have my fun tonight  
I'm not here for your entertainment  
You don't really wanna mess with me tonight  
Just stop and take a second  
I was fine before you walked into my life  
_ ' _Cause you know it's over_  
_Before it began_  
_Keep your drink, just give me the money_  
_It's just you and your hand tonight_  
_In the corner with your boys, you bet them five bucks_  
_You'd get the girl who just walked in, but she thinks you suck_  
_We didn't get all dressed up just for you to see_  
_So quit spilling your drinks on me_  
_Yeah, you know who you are_  
_High fiving and talking shit but you're going home alone aren't ya?_

* * *

Darien didn't know what to say after that performance that Serena had just did. In fact, he really didn't know what to say to Serena since he had talked to Paul and Nick earlier that day. They hadn't really told him what had happened, all they said was that there was bad blood between Serena and her parents because of a traumatic experience that she went through the year that she left for LA. A traumatic experience? That could have been a number of things, but the way that she was acting especially when she saw that guy earlier, he had to wonder if it was because something that guy did to her. The blood in his veins boiled over at the thought of someone hurting Serena.

* * *

It was the last song of the evening for Serena's set and she was nervous as all hell. Throughout the concert, she felt _his_ eyes on her and she had done her best to ignore it. Even though she had almost stumbled during one of the songs because of the fact that she was concentrating so hard on ignoring _him_ that she forgot to look at where she was going as she was moving on stage. But it didn't matter, because she was finally going to sing out her feelings. All the rage and pain that she had gone through since that night two years ago was finally going to come out.

"So, for my final song of the evening, tonight, we're going to switch it up again. I wrote this song a few years ago, when I was going through some horrible shit and I think it's the perfect way to end the show back in my hometown. The song is called 'Long Way to Happy' and I hope you guys like it." She moved the microphone stand to the center of the stage again and placed the microphone in it. Darien was watching all of this from backstage and didn't know why he was holding his breath. The music began and after awhile, Serena began to sing.

 _One night to you  
Lasted six weeks for me  
Just a bitter little pill now  
Just to try to go to sleep  
No more waking up to innocence  
Say hello to hesitance to everyone I meet  
Thanks to you, years ago, I guess I'll never know  
What love means to me  
But, oh, I'll keep on rolling down this road  
But I've got a bad, bad feeling  
It's gonna take a long time to love  
It's gonna take a lot to hold on  
It's gonna be a long way to happy  
Lifting the pieces that you broke me into  
Torn apart but now I've got to  
Keep on rolling like a stone  
_ ' _Cause it's gonna be a long, long way to happy  
Leave my childhood behind  
In a rollaway bin  
Everything was so damn simple  
Now I'm losing my head  
Try to cover up the damage  
And pad out all the bruises  
Too young to know I had it  
So I didn't hurt to lose it  
Didn't hurt to lose it  
But oh, I'll keep on rolling down this road  
But I've got a bad, bad feeling  
It's gonna take a long time to love  
It's gonna take a lot to hold on  
It's gonna be a long way to happy  
Lifting the pieces that you broke me into  
Torn apart but now I've got to  
Keep on rolling like a stone  
_ ' _Cause it's gonna be a long, long way to happy  
Now, I'm numb as hell and I can't feel a thing  
But don't worry about regret or guilt  
_ ' _Cause I never knew your name_  
_I just want to thank you, thank you_  
_From the bottom of my heart_  
_For all those sleepless nights_  
_And for tearing me apart_  
_Yeah_

The music continued but Serena didn't continue singing. After that final verse she didn't have it in her to sing. Her voice had been cracking during that final verse and her eyes had begun to tear. Darien had watched all of this forgetting to breathe. He now knew what had happened to Serena the moment she sang this song, and it killed him to know that she had gone through it. It also confused him. How was it that a girl who could sing 'For Your Entertainment' so easily, have experienced something like this? He wanted to rush out onto the stage and comfort her, but he couldn't. The crowd was already whispering about the song, he could tell. If he went out there now it would only increase those rumors.

* * *

It was after Darien's set that he was finally able to go in search of Serena. But when he came back behind the stage, he heard raised voices. He rushed towards the voices and saw the guy from outside the hotel standing in front of a menacing looking Paul, Nick and Lita. Sapphire was watching all of this with an amused expression and Mark and Jason looked at Darien when he showed up.

"What's going on?" He asked, glaring at the guy from the hotel.

"I don't know," Mark replied. "This guy, who has a backstage pass, came up to Serena for an autograph and then these three jumped in front of him and started pushing him away from her. I don't get it, he's allowed to be here."

"No, he's not," Darien said through gritted teeth. Now he understood why Serena had acted the way she had in front of the hotel earlier that day. It was because of what this idiot had done to her. She was still afraid.

"What? Why not?" Jason asked. "He has a backstage pass. He paid good money for his tickets."

"Yes, I'm aware of the money he paid, but after what that creep did to her…" he trailed off and looked at his two friends who were looking at him like he was crazy. "You guys weren't listening to that song she did at the end of her set?"

"Yeah, we heard it. But what the hell was that about? It was much darker than the stuff she usually does," Jason commented.

"It was about the sexual assault that she went through before she left for LA, and I have a feeling this is the guy who did it." He pointed over to the guy with reddish brown hair. Comprehension dawned on Mark and Jason's faces and they were more than happy to stride over with Darien to back up the other three musicians.

"Everything all right over here?" Mark commented.

"No," the guy said.

"Yes," Lita, Paul, and Nick interceded. "We've got it under control."

"Like hell. All I want is a goddamned autograph from my favorite singer and these three bozos are acting like I'm a stalker or something."

"Aren't you though, Alan?" Serena's voice asked from behind the wall of protection that had formed around her. "After everything you did to me…" she broke out into tears again.

"I didn't do anything to you, Serena!" Alan exclaimed. "Why can't you just let me explain…"

"Oh, no, there's nothing to explain, Alan," Paul said sternly. "Now get the hell out of here, before we have you thrown out."

"No, I'm not leaving. Not until she talks to me."

"Don't you get it?" Darien asked. "She doesn't _want_ to talk to you. So get the hell out."

"Look, I don't know who the hell you think you are, but what's going on between me and that bitch isn't any of your business."

That was the wrong thing to say, for Darien snapped in that moment. He threw a punch that sent Alan flying to the ground, Serena to shriek in surprise and alarm…

And for the media, that were backstage, to swarm like mosquitoes.


	7. Days 11 & 12: Finally Coming Clean

It all happened so fast, Darien couldn't help but muse later, that he didn't really remember what exactly had happened. One minute he was telling that bastard Alan to leave Serena the hell alone, the next he was punching him out and the paparazzi had descended like birds. The flashing of hundreds of cameras made him almost blind, but the adrenaline from his fist hitting someone's face was still pumping through his veins, so he didn't pay it much mind. They were asking questions and he didn't dare give them any answers. No one really spoke, he remembered hearing Sapphire's voice screaming over the reporters, saying something along the lines that they shouldn't say anything. Then the next thing he knew, someone was pulling on his hand and leading him away from the reporters and cameras, at a brisk run. When the noise finally began to subside, he realized that whoever had dragged him out of there, had taken him outside the Royal Oak Music Theater. As Darien got his bearings and everything came rushing back to him, he finally began to question who had gotten him out of that mess. He looked down to the person who was still clinging to his hand.

It was Serena and they were running back to the hotel, some reporters hot on their heals. He was able to keep up with her easily, even though it floored him that it was Serena who had gotten him out of there. He would have thought that after everything that had happened that day, she would have been too shocked to do anything but stand there until security escorted her safely out of the building. He wanted to say exactly that to her, but as they were running and she didn't seem to be in the mood to talk, he didn't. He'd save it for when they were back in the private and safe rooms of the hotel.

But Serena had other plans. He hadn't been expecting her to stop, but she did, in the middle of the sidewalk and began to pace. He checked behind them and was surprised to find that there weren't any signs of paparazzi following them. She must have taken a lot of turns that lead them away, he couldn't help but muse to himself.

"Let me guess," he broke into her concentration. "You've been to this city before?" She looked up at him startled, but nodded.

"I used to always come down here to see my favorite bands and just to escape from my house. Back when I was in high school it was _the_ city to hang out in."

"Well, that came in handy tonight," he said offhand, but it was the wrong thing to say for she started pacing again. He watched her, wondering what exactly she could be thinking about. Then again he should probably know what she was thinking about. Or more specifically what he had done back there. What had possessed him to punch Alan? A flash of light interrupted his thoughts. He thought it was the flash from a photographer's camera and his whole body went rigid, getting ready to grab Serena and run. But she just looked up from her pacing and to the sky.

_Clash!_

"Figures," she muttered as rain began to fall steadily and there was another flash of lightning. Darien took her hand and began to run in the direction of what he could only hope was the hotel. She let him drag her along as she wondered how much he seemed to understand about what had happened tonight. Hell, she herself knew every little detail about the background information that led up to tonight's events, but she was _still_ having a hard time understanding what the hell had happened backstage. And she didn't have that long to process it before the paparazzi had 'smelled the blood in the water,' so to speak.

But Darien…god…what had he been thinking punching out Alan like that, and _why_ had he done it? Was it because he had been defending her honor? Or…she trailed off and looked up at him, no. She would be a fool to believe that Darien had punched out Alan to just defend her honor. He punched that jerk because he _knew_ what Alan had done, something that Serena should have seen coming. Sure, when she was informed that she would be coming here, she had a vague suspicion that it might come out. But when Darien had come with her to her parents' house, well, he was _bound_ to figure out that something was amiss. Then Nick and Paul probably confirmed his fears, not exactly telling him what had happened, but alluding to it. And she, herself, had put the pieces together for him with that damn song at the end of her set that night.

_Great_ , she couldn't help but think. So, not only does he know, but also the whole freaking world was going to know what had happened to her two years ago. Oh, hell, this was _not_ what she wanted to happen tonight. Her head was pounding in time to the thunder that was echoing around them as Darien kept dragging her beside him. She eventually let go of his hand and began to run on her own. Her feet splashed through the puddles and she picked up the pace. By this point, the rain was literally coming down in sheets and Darien and her were both soaked to the bone. Luckily it was the beginning of summer or else they would probably come down with pneumonia the next day.

They finally made it back to the hotel and with a collected sigh of relief threw themselves through the front doors. The people who were still standing in the lobby gave them the strangest looks, but the pair didn't pay them any mind and made their way towards the elevators, knowing that they had to change and get out of their soaked clothes. They also knew, at least _Serena_ knew, that there was probably going to be another serious conversation between the two of them once they were in dried clothes.

* * *

Serena was nervous as she sat on her bed, now dressed in gray flannel pajama pants and a white tank top. Her brown/blonde-streaked hair was almost dry, thanks to it being so short. But she was still rather chilled, and it was all because of Alan. With him showing up, he had lead to the unraveling of her long and complicated past. Well, okay, maybe it wasn't his fault… _entirely_ , but he was still a major catalyst for what was about to happen now.

Darien was supposed to be meeting her here after he dried off and changed into some dry clothes himself. Afterwards, she knew that he was going to expect her to tell him what exactly had happened to her two years ago. Even though, she didn't understand why she had to tell him. He _did_ punch out Alan backstage, and there was only one reason why he would do that. He knew what had happened, or at least, he had a slight _idea_ of what had happened. But what did he want from her? For her to confirm his suspicion and to go into every dark, disgusting detail?

Well was he in for a surprise. The only people who knew the details about what had happened on that terrible night two years ago were Paul, Nick, Lita, her parents, Alan and their lawyers. Her high school graduating class only _thought_ that they knew what had happened. But all of it was false. Serena would be damned if she was going to tell the story again. Even if Darien had defended her, she wasn't going to tell him. She wasn't….

_Knock, knock!_

_Oh hell,_ she thought and got up from the bed to answer the door. She peeped in the hole and saw that it was the raven-haired pop star before she took a deep breath and opened the door. His arms were on either side of the doorframe and he was looking down at his feet. When he heard the door open he lifted his head only slightly and Serena found herself drowning in those deep azure blue eyes of his. It didn't help that his bangs were falling over them either. _Damn this man_ , she scolded in her head.

"Hey," Darien said breaking the silence between them. He had been yelling at himself for punching out that Alan guy since he and Serena had parted ways at the elevator. What had he been thinking? He should have known better than to do something that scandalous while in the presence of the paparazzi But as he'd been contemplating ways of answering the questions that they were sure to have, Serena had opened the door and he had peered into those cornflower blue eyes. _Screw it,_ he thought. _It was worth it. She had been worth it._ Now the only thing he needed to know was whether or not punching Alan had been too outrageous or too tame.

"Hi," Serena replied opening the door wider, wordlessly inviting him in. he accepted the invitation and walked slowly into her hotel room. Darien heard the light click of the door closing behind him and he turned to face her. But he almost stumbled at the sight. When she had answered the door he had only seen her eyes. Now he had the chance to take all of her in and couldn't help but stare. Her back was pressed up against the closed door and her eyes were closed. Her brunette - with her original golden blonde - hair streaking through was still slightly damp from their run in the rain, but some of it was curled, making her look absolutely breathtaking. She had changed out of her wet clothes into gray pajama bottoms that only reached halfway on her hips. The white tank top was tight on her frame and showed a pale expanse of her stomach. And…Darien couldn't help but stick on this point, she wasn't wearing a bra. He nearly groaned, but mentally chided himself. _This isn't why you are here. Get your mind out of the gutter, right now._

Serena opened an eye to see that Darien was staring, his mouth slightly open. She couldn't figure out why until she felt the slight chill and remembered that she hadn't thrown on a bra. _Wonderful,_ she sighed which caught his attention and he instantly stopped staring.

"So, uh…" he cleared his throat. What was this? It wasn't like he had never seen a woman not wearing a bra before. For Christ's sake, he was Darien freaking Shields, the multi-platinum pop star! He practically had women throw their bras at him on a nightly basis. He mentally nodded and continued. "So, do you want to talk about what happened tonight?"

Both of Serena's eyes were open now and she sighed. "I don't think I have much of choice, do I?"

"Sure you do. But I would like you to explain, only so I can know who I punched out and why." He shrugged.

"I have a feeling you already know why you punched out Alan. Other than the fact that he's a supreme jack ass." She tried to joke but winced. It was still too soon to be cracking jokes about what had happened.

"I have my suspicions," Darien softly replied. "But I'd rather hear the truth from you. Something about this place has made you act differently and I'm not talking about Alan. I mean your set tonight and even your parents. What's going on, Serena?"

She sighed again. She had thought that she had hid it so well from him, but she should have known better. The way that she was able to read him since the beginning of the tour also applied to her. Darien could read her like an open book. So even though she didn't want to tell him about her sordid history, she felt that she had to. Not only because he had punched Alan in the face, but also because she couldn't lie to him. That wasn't how this relationship, if there was ever going to be one, was supposed to work.

"You don't know the half of it," Serena replied and walked over to the couch in the room. She sat down and Darien followed her, sitting across from her on the coffee table.

"So, tell me," he said looking deeply into her eyes.

"Well, a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away," she began, but felt his disapproving stare on her face. "Not going for that, eh? I guess I should have known that. Okay, seriously, as you know I've lived here before I went away to California. To tell the truth, that house that we were in, was my one and only home until I left. I grew up in Sterling Heights, but always knew I was destined for the big city.

"In high school, I wasn't always the straight and narrow girl that I am now. I met Paul and Nick in junior high and we've been friends ever since. We formed our band when we were freshman and started playing clubs when we were juniors. While in high school, our reputation preceded us, the incoming classes knew that we were serious about our music. Some even called me the badass leader of our trio. Seriously, there were times where my blonde hair had pink streaks or purple streaks. I was a little crazy."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Darien commented. "You sound like any other teenager out there."

"Not quite. Yes, I snuck out. Yes, I had a fake id, but how else was I supposed to get into these clubs and perform? Yet on top of all that, I was taking AP classes in school even though I had no plans of going to college. And also much to parents disdain, I was picking up these older guys at the bars we performed at."

Darien growled. He hadn't been expecting _that_ from her. He thought that what Alan had done to her was, well, her first time. He hadn't thought her a slut until now.

"Oh, don't even," she snapped back. "I didn't sleep with these guys or anything. We went out, we kissed, I found something appalling about them and that was it. Still it pissed off my parents and people at school talked. With my rep, most people brushed it off knowing I was not that kind of girl." She eyed him meaningfully.

"So, what about Alan?"

"Alan," she spat out. "Alan was a transfer student in our senior year. He took an instant liking to the band and me. He started hanging out with us and at the time I thought he was cool. Before Christmas, we started dating and continued to date until graduation." She took a deep breath feeling the memories hit her full force for the first time since she testified.

"The week before graduation, the seniors had it off. We finished school on the twenty-first of May and the following week was all the events. Our Prom was on Wednesday and our band had been picked to play. The crowd loved us, we loved playing, but Alan was not too happy. Since he was my date, he didn't get a chance to dance with me since I played the whole night. So we fought the whole way home that night. We didn't speak again until the day before graduation…"

_***Flashback*** _

_Haruka Thames, the captain of the girls volleyball team, was throwing the second to last Senior bash at her house. Serena, Nick, Paul and Alan had been invited a long time ago and Serena and Alan were supposed to arrive together. But since the fight, Serena didn't want to go with him. Nick came to pick her up and they arrived an hour after the party was supposed to begin._

_The party was in full swing and there were already people passed out on the front lawn. Serena couldn't help but smile as people greeted her and told her how awesome the songs were at Prom. She was popular and it was the last days of high school. The irony of it all was not lost on her._

_She had a drink in her hand and had lost Nick and Paul in the crowd. Haruka who had been an acquaintance of hers, broke away from some of her friends to talk to her._

_"Enjoying yourself?"_

_"Yeah, thanks for inviting me," she replied and took a sip from her drink. "Kind of hard to believe that this is almost all over, isn't it?"_

_"Yeah, I know," Haruka said. "Hard to believe that I'm going to have bigger problems than meeting deadlines in Ms. P's journalism class."_

_"Yes," Serena laughed. "Even though, she could try and stalk us now that we're done. She seriously has eyes everywhere!"_

_They continued talking and were in the middle of a conversation when someone's arm clumsily slipped around her shoulders. Haruka glared and Serena turned her head only to find a tipsy Alan in her face._

_"Serena, baby, I've been looking for you everywhere," he slurred. "I'm so sorry for what happened at Prom. Can we be okay again?"_

_She scowled at the smell of sour beer on his breath. Alan never could hold his alcohol, and she really didn't want to be in his presence if he was drunk. He was known for getting a little 'handsy.'_

_"No, we can't be okay again, Alan. Especially not while you're drunk," she shoved him away and walked into the crowd sending an apologetic look to Haruka before she went. It was time to find Nick and get the hell out of there._

_But she didn't get far before someone pulled so violently on her hand that she stumbled back into a hard chest. She turned around to give this person a piece of her mind when she saw who it was._

_"Alan, let me go," she seethed at him._

_"I don't think so," he replied back, his voice hard. He was majorly pissed and he was drunk. This was not a good combination. Serena searched the people around her to try and find someone who could help her. Even Haruka, would be better than nothing. But she couldn't find anyone who wasn't a little bit wasted. "You're coming with me. I think it's time we had a nice long_ talk _."_

_He pulled her through the crowd and into an empty guest room. He shoved her onto the bed, before he closed the door. Utter darkness ensued and Serena started freaking out, already knowing what Alan wanted to do._

_"Alan, don't." Her voice shot out into the room, but it was too late. He was on top of her, his face so close to her own she could smile the sour beer on his lips._

_"Ssh, Sere. It's going to be okay. I won't hurt you, I promise," his hand dipped below into the waistband of her skirt._

_***End of Flashback*** _

Serena was crying as she came back from the memory. She stopped speaking as she felt the hot salty liquid run down her face in a constant stream. _It's a good thing I don't wear make up_ , she sadly joked, trying to wipe them away.

"Paul, Nick, and Haruka finally found me, but it had already been too late. Alan had already left and I was crying when they found me. Haruka called the police and when they came, people were pissed. They were busting people for underage drinking, but forgot all about it when Nick, Paul, and Haruka led me out of the room. They took my statement and escorted me to the hospital to administer a rape kit. One of the guys they had busted turned out to be Alan. He was booked for statutory rape that night." She took a shaky breath and continued.

"The next morning was graduation, I don't really remember what happened. But I will always be thankful to Paul who sat next to me the whole time and poked me when it was my turn to stand up and get my diploma. The whole class had heard what had happened and were whispering about it behind my back. They even felt bad for Alan.

"My parents had been informed of what happened and had hired a lawyer. While everyone was celebrating at the All Night Party, I was being deposed. After I was finally released, I called Paul and Nick and told them to pack because we were leaving the next morning. I couldn't be there anymore. The way my parents were looking at me?" She shook her head.

Darien's hands hurt because he had been clenching them so hard while Serena had been speaking. His suspicions had been tame compared to her retelling. How could someone do that to her? She was an angel. No one should have ever treated her that way.

"But what happened with the trial?"

"The beauty of the Internet," she darkly chuckled. "The judge allowed me to Skype during my testimony and my lawyer called me a few weeks later with the ruling. Alan was sentenced to five years in jail, but apparently, he got early parole. Gotta love our judicial system." Her dark chuckle turned into a sob and Darien got up from the table and took her into his arms.

They stayed like that for a while, each not sure of what to say. He was thinking about how _right_ it felt to be holding her in his arms, and all she could think about was how _right_ it felt to be there. But how horrible was that for her to think about? She had just told him about her horrible past and now she was thinking of jumping straight into Darien's arms? This wasn't right. Besides they had agreed that this wouldn't happen until _after_ the tour. Hadn't they?

"Serena?" Darien asked, breaking into her concentration. She had been too quiet. He had to know what was going through her head. Because what was going through his was…

She turned to look up at him, and those blue eyes of hers took his breath away and his train of thought went out the window. She had shifted her body to face him and places came into contact for the first time. A crackle of electricity sparked between them and Serena gasped at the shock of it. This drew his attention to her lips, and without consent from his brain, he found himself lowering his head to capture those lips with his own.

Serena didn't like to be clichéd, except in her song writing, but when their lips met for the first time she saw fireworks. Their lips felt so right together, and who knew if it was because they had been attracted to each other for so long that the anticipation had lead up to this moment or if they were meant for each other? It just felt right.

Darien had never felt this way when he kissed a girl before, and he had been with his share of women. He wasn't deemed a playboy for nothing. But this was different. Serena was different. And she proved it, when in a moment of clarity she realized what she was doing, and shoved him away. It startled the both of them and he almost fell off the couch. She, on the other hand, had leapt up and stood a distance away from him. She was shaking when he finally got his bearings back.

"I'm sorry," were the first words out of his mouth, even though he wasn't. He had wanted to kiss her for weeks now, but had kept his emotions in check.

"There's nothing to apologize for," she replied. "We got caught up in our emotions, but I think you need to leave." She turned away from him, but Darien didn't want to leave. This hadn't been just them getting caught up in their emotions. They had been attracted to each other since the beginning. He had to make her understand that this was something more. He stood up and stood behind her. She turned around startled at how close he was to her again.

"What are you - "

"I understand that the past few days have been emotional for you, Serena, and yeah, I probably shouldn't have kissed you, at least not like this. But don't insult my intelligence and your own by saying that it was just because we got caught up in our emotions."

"Then what, Darien?" She asked her frazzled nerves breaking down even more. "We've had this conversation already. We like each other, but we can't do anything until after the tour. My reputation as an artist is on the line here."

"Forget about your reputation, Sere. If I have to, I'll punch out any media guy that believes that you only made the tour because we slept together." He went to touch her, but she stepped away from him. Now, though, she was pissed.

"Forget my reputation? Darien, I can't do that! This is my career we're talking about! I'm not like those other girls you've been with. I actually _care_ if my name gets slandered in the tabloids!"

He was momentarily stunned, but gained back his composure quickly and with a temper of his own. "I know you're not like those other girls, but I will protect you. If you don't want to take that chance then maybe you're not the girl I thought you were." He stomped out of her hotel room, now more pissed than before and wished Alan was around so that way he could punch him out again.

Serena stared at the door, before she collapsed where she stood and began to sob again.

* * *

 Day 12

* * *

She hadn't slept that night and just when she was starting to that morning, the phone rang and she had no choice but to answer. It was Sapphire and he explained that the paparazzi were going nuts about what had happened last night. They had done their research and found the court case. They wanted interviews. She had listened as he listed off names, but one in particular caught her attention.

"Stop," she said. "Diane Sawyer, really?"

"Yes, she wants to do a one-hour special."

"Call her," Serena replied. She had always like Diane Sawyer when she was growing up. "And give her exclusive rights, I only want to talk about this once." She hung up the phone and it rang ten minutes later.

"Well?"

"She'll be interviewing you around eight tonight."

"Perfect," she replied and hung up again. She had time to do some thinking and knew what she had to do.

* * *

She had just finished telling her story about her past, and she was trying hard not to cry as she stared at Diane Sawyer, who was giving her a minute to collect herself before she moved on with the interview. It had been hard, but it was almost over. There were only two more questions to be asked, and Serena was waiting patiently for them. She knew the answers she was going to give, and she hoped that this would change things.

"So, then, Darien Shields picked you and your band out of thousands of auditions. The media has been throwing the two of you together a lot lately. Is there any truth to these rumors that the two of you are together?"

"I will always be thankful to Darien for giving my band and I a chance. As to the rumors that there is something going on between Darien and me, well, they are just rumors. However, Darien and I like each other and the only reason we're not seeing each other romantically is because I'm afraid what people might think."

"Think about what?"

"I'm afraid people are going to think that the only reason I was picked out of those thousands of auditions is because Darien is romantically involved with me, not because of my talent."

"But after seven shows, I think you would be safe from that now," Diane Sawyer replied and paused for a minute. "You care deeply for him, don't you?"

Serena paused feeling the answer bubbling in her chest. "It's more than that, Diane. I think I love him."


	8. Day 27: Taking the Night Off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't own Sailor Moon. Don't own the song "Whataya Want From Me" by Adam Lambert either. Enjoy!

Darien groaned as he heard a feminine voice screech loudly - and horribly off key - to the lyrics that were pumping through the room. He grabbed a pillow from beside him and threw it over his head to try and drown out the sound. He had been sleeping deeply and soundly for the first time in two weeks, but her singing had rudely awakened him. Hadn't he made it clear that she was supposed to be gone come morning? That had always been their deal when he called for her. But, he guessed, she did know that he had the day off for the first time in awhile. Even though, he should probably go to the theater and practice for tomorrow night's show.

His train of thought trailed off as he started to go back to sleep despite the loud noise in the other room. But then it happened. A flash of cornflower blue eyes, staring at him in contempt. Darien groaned again and opened his eyes, finally giving up on sleeping. _She_ had plagued him ever since they had fought over two weeks ago. They hadn't spoken since. In fact, he went out of his way to avoid her. Even if she had something to say to him, he didn't give her the opportunity to do so. It was cold what he was doing to Serena, but it hurt him more than it hurt her. She didn't think that their relationship was worth fighting for. It hurt him to know that, when he knew that he would face of an army of paparazzi for her.

He shook his head and sat up, his eyes searching for Anne, one of his many playmates that he used while on tour. She wasn't in the bedroom, but as Darien got up and threw on some pants, he saw that her clothes were still strewn across the bedroom floor. He sighed and made his way out to the main area of his hotel room. She was sitting on the couch wearing a robe and watching music videos on TV. He couldn't help but chuckle. Typical Anne behavior. At his chuckle, she looked up and smiled.

"Hello sexy," she purred. "I ordered room service."

He nodded and went over to the cart that was in the middle of the room. He poured himself a cup of coffee before he joined her on the couch. Sipping his morning rejuvenation, he watched a commercial for toothpaste.

"So, you're still here?" He finally said after he swallowed.

"Well, I knew you had today off and there's this special on TV tonight that I wouldn't be able to catch if I left."

"Oh, I see how it is," he laughed. "You're using me for my television."

"It's better than what you're using me for," she commented lightly. She trailed a finger down his chest. "Not that I care, mind you. But when you think about it, which is the worse of two evils?"

"All right, so what's this TV special that you're going to watch about?" He acquiesced.

"Well, it's about – oh, look, here's the promo!" She exclaimed and pointed her finger to the screen. Darien turned to watch, but blanched when he saw Serena's face on the screen with Diane Sawyer. His mind went into overdrive as he continued to watch. She had done an interview about what had happened to her two years ago. Was she crazy? And yet she didn't want her name slandered in the papers? Ha, well there went her plan.

_"The media have been putting you and Darien Shields together a lot lately. Is there any truth to these rumors?"_ Darien felt his jaw drop and felt himself absolutely gapping when the promo had only a shot of Serena deliberating and then opening her mouth to answer before cutting to the time the special would air.

Anne was looking at him, but he ignored her. Those guys in editing were evil and that was sure to bring in viewers, but he already knew what Serena was going to answer. There was nothing going on between them, at least not until after the tour was over. Not that there was going to anything between them even then. She burned that bridge all on her own. Ignoring Anne some more, he got off the couch and walked back into the bedroom, grabbing a t-shirt as he went. He pulled it over his head, checked his hair and breath before heading out into the main area again.

This time when he entered, Anne was standing and watching him. As he made for the door, she pulled on his arm.

"Where are you going?"

"Out."

"But I thought we were going to spend the day together?" She replied her nose scrunching up in confusion.

"No, that isn't part of our arrangement. But feel free to stick around and watch that special. I'll be back in a few hours." The door closed behind him and he walked down the hallway. He paused slightly in front of Serena's room, which was across the hall from his, but when he heard nothing but silence he continued on his way. It was his day off, but he was going to the theater to practice for tomorrow. Or at least clear his head.

* * *

Serena groaned into the microphone for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. They kept going over this song, but it just wasn't grooving like it had been whey they first recorded it. Then again all of her songs recently had been lacking that special factor. She knew what was to blame. That fight that she had had with Darien was still fresh in her head. The aftermath of that fight didn't hit her until the night after her interview. He had refused to sing a duet with her and the crowd was not pleased. For the first time in Darien's career, the crowd literally booed him off the stage.

She was flabbergasted at how much the audience had hated him for not singing with her. Word had spread and the crowd the following night was restless to see if he would do the same thing. She sensed from the cold shoulder that he was giving her that night that they wouldn't be doing a duet anytime soon. Before her set began, she had spoken to the crowd that night and told them that things between Darien and her were strained. And it was mostly her fault, so cut him some slack. She didn't know if he had heard what she had said because he didn't mention it when he went on that night, and he was still avoiding her.

The fans though had swarmed in support of her and on the band's website had started sending messages that Darien needed to get over whatever Serena had done and forgive her. She had smiled when she had seen that and couldn't help but feel her heart swell for her fans. They were the best things in the world and she was starting to feel better about the whole Darien situation.

Then the pictures came out. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw him on the cover of tabloids with random girls. Darien's playboy persona was back to play. And surprisingly, it hurt every time she saw one of those pictures. She didn't really understand why either. Yes, she loved him, but _he_ didn't know that. Considering the last time they spoke, she didn't blame him for doing this. But yet it still hurt every time she saw it. When had she become that kind of girl? She knew what she was getting herself into before she joined the tour. Why would this be bothering her now?

"Serena, let's get this down pat already. We know you're going through a lot right now, but don't let it effect the music." Nick said strumming his guitar. "Get your groove back, Sere. We know it's in there somewhere." He winked.

She smiled and tried to think about the song and what it had meant to her. Then out of the corner of her eye, she caught Darien walking in. He was momentarily stunned to see them there and looked like he was about to leave, but decided against it. He sat down and turned his attention to the stage. The inspiration hit her then. The last moments of the last time Darien and her had spoken flashed through her head and she felt something bubbling in her stomach. She signaled the band to play the song from the beginning and she waited.

Irony was a mean old bitch. Darien couldn't help but think as he walked into the theater and saw Serena and her band on stage. The one person he was trying to get away from and there she was. He grumbled and made to leave, but decided against it. He wondered what they could possibly be working on this early in the morning. He sat back and listened as Nick began to strum an unfamiliar melody on his guitar. After a while, Serena began to sing and he had forgotten what her voice did to him.

_Hey, slow it down, whataya want from me?_   
_Whataya want from me?_   
_Yeah, I'm afraid, whataya want from me?_   
_Whataya want from me?_   
_There might have been a time when I would give myself away_   
_Oh, once upon a time I didn't give a damn_   
_But now, here we are_   
_So whataya want from me?_   
_Whataya want from me?_   
_Just don't give up I'm working it out_   
_Please don't give in I won't let you down_   
_It messed me up, I need a second to breathe_   
_Just keep coming around_   
_Hey, whataya want from me?_   
_Whataya want from me?_   
_Yeah, it's plain to see_   
_That baby you're beautiful_   
_And there's nothing wrong with you_   
_But me_   
_I'm a freak_   
_But thanks for loving me_   
_'Cause you're doing it perfectly_   
_There might have been a time when I would let you slip away_   
_I wouldn't even try, but I think you could save my life_   
_Just don't give up I'm working it out_   
_Please don't give in I won't let you down_   
_It messed me up I need a second to breathe_   
_Just keep coming around_   
_Hey, whataya want from me?_   
_Whataya want from me?_   
_Just don't give up on me_   
_I won't let you down_   
_No, I won't let you down_   
_So what?_

Her voice cracked on the last note, but she didn't care. For the first time in weeks there was actually some heart behind her lyrics. And there was also tears streaming down her face. She was tired of crying, but if Darien could see this, and if he had any logical sense at all, he would know it was because of their situation. She looked up, hopeful to see him coming her way, but she was disappointed to find Darien had already left.

* * *

Anne was watching the special with hands covering her mouth. The struggle that Serena had gone through to get here was inspiring and heartbreaking. But what she had said about Darien, well that just broke Anne's heart. She knew that she was only called on by him because he was lonely, but she didn't think Serena liked him back. How could she have done this to their relationship?

She was not stupid. She knew that what her and Darien had was not going to amount to anything serious. But it was better than being alone. So, when she heard Serena say that she thought that she was in love with him, Anne knew what she had to do. She rewound the special to Diane's question and paused it, before she got up and went into the bedroom to gather her things.

That's how he found her when he came back to the room.

* * *

Darien was hurting. He finally admitted the truth to himself and he sat at the hotel bar cradling his sixth - or was it his seventh? - drink of the evening. He had gone to the theater to practice for tomorrow night's performance and to escape Serena. But when he got there, she was there, as if knowing that he didn't want to see her. Yet, what got him was that instead of walking away like he should have – like any _sensible_ man should have – he had stayed. And what he had witnessed made him even more pissed, if that was possible. How dare she sing that song! She dared to ask him - because obviously she was singing to him - what he wanted from her when she already knew? He wanted her, he had ever since they had first laid eyes on each other.

But she didn't want him. She had made that clear two weeks ago during their fight. She wanted her career more. He threw back the rest of his drink in anger. At the same time though, a part of his mind thought, did she really want her career more? A line from the song kept playing itself over and over in his head. _Just don't give up on me_. He scoffed at the line and his brain.

Too late, he already had.

Darien stood from his bar stool and left a few bills on the counter before walking away. That awful TV special should be over by now and he needed some comfort that alcohol could not bring. He stepped onto the elevator feeling slightly odd. Were people staring at him more than usual or was that just the alcohol making him paranoid? He shook it off, but continued to notice the couple in front of him turning back occasionally to look at him. Oh, this had better not have anything to do with that bloody TV special. What had Serena done this time? He had heard about what she had said to their audience three nights after their fight, and he wasn't as pissed because it _was_ her fault that he had been booed off the stage the night before.

The elevator chimed letting Darien know that it had stopped on his floor. He pushed his way to the front of the elevator, but as he passed the couple he overheard the girl whispering to her partner, "Do you think he saw it?"

Her partner replied back, "Probably and he's on his way to see her and tell her…" The doors to the elevator closed before he could hear what the other girl was going to say. And tell her _what_? He couldn't help but think to himself as he walked down the hall and passed Serena's room. He shook his head and continued on his way. It didn't matter what she had said on that special. Things were over between the two of them.

Darien walked into his room and was surprised to find Anne not in the main living area. The TV was still on though, he noticed as he moved towards the bedroom. He threw off his t-shirt as he went. Maybe she was in the bed already waiting for him. His fingers were poised at his buckle, but what he saw when he entered the room wasn't what he had expected. Anne was on the bed all right. But she was sitting on it fully clothed with her bag at her feet. Her face looked grim.

"I'm surprised to find you clothed," he slurred.

"I'm leaving," she replied standing up.

"Wait. What? Why are you leaving? I thought we had a deal!"

"Not anymore." Anne grabbed her bag and strode from the room, she walked quickly to the door before he had the sense to chase after her. Alcohol had really dulled his sense of what was going on. When he realized he followed her.

"Anne, wait!"

* * *

Serena's hand was shaking as she turned off the TV, her special now over. It was weird to see her own face on television she couldn't help but muse. It was a tactic to avoid what was really going through her head, but even she knew it wasn't working. She had publicly declared her love for Darien. She was no longer denying that there was nothing going on between them. There was something, and she was telling him that she had been wrong. Their relationship was worth fighting for.

Now, the only question was had he seen it? Or was he still so angry with her that he hadn't bothered to watch it? If it was the latter, her heart was sure to break. She sighed and headed to the door. There was only one way to find out. She was about to open the door when she heard the commotion in the hall. She frowned and opened the door to see what was going on.

A woman with shoulder length brunette hair was standing in the hallway. She was glaring at the person who had chased her, which much to Serena's surprise was a shirtless Darien.

"Anne, where do you think you're going?" He asked the brunette.

"I can't stay here anymore, Darien. Not after…" she trailed off and shook her head.

"But we had a deal!"

"The deal is off. I can't do that, not while I know." Tears were forming in the girl's eyes and Serena felt her heart go out to her even though she had been one of Darien's 'playmates.'

"It didn't seem to matter to you before. What's changed?" He paused. "It isn't because of something that was said on that blasted special, was it?" Serena's heart leaped. So he had seen it?

"It is," Anne agreed.

"Damn it. I don't know what the girl said, but it means nothing. Now, get back here, Anne!" Serena's heart shattered and she felt tears swell in her eyes. He hadn't even bothered to watch it, and he was condemning whatever she had said.

"No, Dare, and before you go off saying it means nothing, you need to hear what she said. And if you still want me back, then she deserves better than you." Her eyes landed on the open hotel door and she smiled sadly at Serena. "Good luck," she whispered before turning on her heal and leaving.

He noticed that Serena was standing at the doorway to her room and had witnessed the whole thing. He felt the anger build up and he glared at her. He didn't even care that she was crying.

"Are you happy now, Serena? You completely destroyed my life!" He yelled at her.

She was momentarily stunned before the anger over her heartbreak consumed her. "So ecstatic," she spat, sarcasm dripping from her every word. "I can now die a happy girl knowing that your life is ruined." She slammed the door closed and leaned on it before sinking to the ground in tears. Again.

* * *

Darien stared, furious at the closed door before he turned and stomped back to his room. After slamming his own door, he began to fume. How could Anne just leave him like that? They had a deal, god damn it, and she walked away because of some stupid words a wannabe pop/rock star had said on TV. _But_ , a part of him chimed in, the words that Serena had said must have been powerful to make Anne walk away like that. So the question was, what did she say in that interview? For the first time, he took notice of the television and the fact that Diane Sawyer's face was frozen on the screen. Anne had been watching it and must have rewound it and paused it to the segment that she wanted him to see.

With a slight hesitance he walked over to the couch and sat down. He grabbed the remote and his finger hovered above the play button. Should he really do this? Would it change anything? He couldn't help but think. There was only one way to find out and he had nothing to lose. He pressed play and settled in to watch.

_"So then, Darien Shields picked you and your band out of thousands of auditions. The media has been throwing the two of you together a lot lately. Is there any truth to these rumors that the two of you are together?"_

_"I will always be thankful to Darien for giving my band and I a chance. As to the rumors that there is something going on between Darien and me, well, they are just rumors. However, Darien and I like each other and the only reason we're not seeing each other romantically is because I'm afraid of what people might think."_

_"Think about what?"_

_"I'm afraid people are going to think that the only reason I was picked out of those thousands auditions is because Darien is romantically involved with me, not because of my talent."_

_"But after seven shows, I think you would be save from that now."_ Diane paused for a second. _"You care for him, don't you?"_

Serena paused for a moment herself, a small smile on her face. Darien was on the edge of his seat waiting for her answer.

_"It's more than that, Diane. I think I love him."_

His jaw hit the floor. She _loved_ him? No wonder Anne had left him. And he…had screamed at Serena telling her that she had ruined his life. His head fell into his hands. He had been a real prick to her and the whole time she was waiting for him, to see his reaction to what she had said on national television.

He had messed up big time and he didn't even know where to begin to make it right.


	9. Day 28: Tour Bus Awkwardness, Take Two & Denver, CO

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still don't own Sailor Moon. Also don't own the songs "What's it Gonna Be" by Orianthi and "Whataya Want from Me" by Adam Lambert.

He couldn't sleep that night. Not that he could even if he wanted to. Serena had confessed on television that she loved him. And he had been a total dick and told her that she was ruining his life. But that wasn't how he actually felt, that he knew for sure. Darien knew that he was in love with her too, and he had been for a long time. That's why it had hurt so much when she had refused to fight for him and their relationship.

Or, at least, that's what he kept telling himself all night. Darien knew that he cared for her, that much was true. Hence why he didn't sleep with anybody until she refused him. A really, really stupid thing to do now that he thought about it. Serena had done that interview the day after their fight and he had gone back to his playboy persona not soon after. She must have felt like crap as he paraded girl after girl in front of her in the tabloids while she held onto this secret that she was in love with him. But now that he knew the truth he had to make it up to her. He had to make her see that he was still the guy she fell in love with and not the one she had been seeing for the last two weeks.

The only question was how was he going to fix this? Serena had declared her feelings publicly. Maybe he could do the same? He pondered on that thought for a while before he called on the members of his band. It was four in the morning, with any luck, he would have this figured out before the show tonight. And hopefully, by the end of the night, Serena would be back in his arms. Hopefully.

* * *

Lita, Paul, and Nick got the call earlier than they had been expecting. They thought that Serena would be in Darien's arms all night after that television special. But when the phone rang at four in the morning, they exchanged looks. This couldn't be a good sign, could it? Lita answered the phone, and instantly felt dread in her stomach. Serena didn't answer with words but with sobs. Things had not turned out the way she had expected them to.

"Serena, don't worry, we'll be there soon," Lita said into the phone before hanging up. Nick and Paul looked at her, concern written on their faces for their dear friend. "Something went wrong. She was sobbing." She quickly explained as she headed towards the door with the two men at her heals.

Out in the hall, they ran into the members of Darien's band. They looked at each other wondering what was going on. They knew about the television special having seen it for themselves, so why were they being called to their respective friend's rooms at four in the morning?

"Oh, god, what did that dick do," Raye muttered as Lita, Paul and Nick stopped at Serena's door and knocked. The door opened slowly to reveal a haggard looking Serena. Her hair was thrown back messily into a ponytail, her eyes were rimmed in red and the tears that she had been crying for the last six hours were dried on her face.

"Serena, what happened?" Lita cried and gave her friend a hug.

"He didn't…" she tried to respond but hiccupped instead. She tried again. "He didn't even watch it. He doesn't care. He thinks I ruined his life." She collapsed into Lita's arms. Mina, Raye, Mark and Jason exchanged looks. Darien had really done it this time and even though they were a part of his band, they felt like they should stay and console Serena. She had become like a sister to them over the last month and they hated that it was because of Darien that she was hurting this bad.

"I'm going to kill him," Mina seethed as she turned and walked off to Darien's room. The others took Serena into her room as the blonde pounded on his door. Things were about to get really messy. He opened the door looking almost as bad as Serena had. This stunned Mina for a second but not for long.

"You are an asshole, Darien Shields," she said emphasizing each point with a poke in his chest. "How could you do that to such a sweet girl? If anyone has ruined someone's life around here, it's you." He was shocked that she was screaming at him. Darien hadn't expected that when he opened the door. But how had she already known what he had said to Serena? He looked down the hall and saw the door to her room was open. His band must have run into her or her band or something his logical brain thought.

"Mina, let me explain…" he sighed.

"No, I don't think so. I let you prance around with all these girls the last few weeks because you were hurting. But _this_? Darien, Serena doesn't deserve this. Stop hurting her!"

"I'm not trying to hurt her on purpose. How was I supposed to know about what she said in that interview? I'm not psychic, Mina." Darien sighed. The headache that he'd been fighting from his hangover and this mess was finally starting to get the better of him. Not that he didn't deserve it, but how was he going to make things right if this headache kept decapacitating him?

"Wait, you watched it?"

"Yeah."

"Then you're an even bigger idiot!" She made to slap him, but he interceded and held her wrist in a death like grip.

"I watched it _after_ I screamed at Serena. I had to know what would cause Anne to leave like that. But you're right, I _am_ an idiot." He let go of her wrist and Mina looked at him. He looked like shit and he looked absolutely miserable.

"Okay, at least you know you're an idiot. So, what do you want to do to get her back?" She crossed her arms over her chest and stared up at him. Darien was shocked at how quickly her moods changed.

"Well, I had this idea, but we're going to need some help from Serena's band to pull it off."

Mina whistled knowing how difficult that was going to be. "That might be hard, but I should be able to get them on board. So tell me what your big plan is."

"I want to…"

* * *

After much coaxing and a cup of hot tea, Serena finally went to sleep. The members of her band had to keep their heated discussion quiet so as not to wake her. Mark, Jason, and Raye watched all of it silent. They really didn't know what to say. Darien had really screwed things up and was really close to losing Serena. Not only as a possible girlfriend but also as an opening act as well.

"This is exactly what Serena was afraid of two weeks ago," Nick hissed. "Now we're going to have to leave the tour."

"Do you really think she's going to want to leave?" Paul asked.

"I don't see why she would want to stay. I mean, yes, it's a great opportunity for her career, ours too, but how can she stand to be near him for the next two months?"

"I don't know, Nick. Serena might surprise you," Lita replied. "I mean, we didn't think that she would be able to survive Royal Oak, not to mention sing. But she did. She's stronger than we're giving her credit for."

Nick didn't bother replying because his girlfriend had shocked him into silence. Serena was strong. He didn't think she was going to be able to handle performing in Royal Oak. Not in front of Alan. But she had _and_ she had done the songs from her past. She was a powerhouse. He just hoped that she could be that strong again.

Mina chose to come in on that point. The quiet three from Darien's band looked up at her entrance. Lita, Paul and Nick also looked up. They had forgotten that she had gone to 'kill' Darien.

"So, what did he have to say about all of this?" Mark asked his girlfriend.

"Let me guess, he made up an excuse?" Raye deadpanned from the corner. They were all used to his antics by now, so they didn't really feel any remorse.

"He didn't make an excuse," Mina replied honestly. "He admitted that he was an idiot for yelling at Serena, especially because he watched the special."

"He _watched_ it?" Everyone seemed to say at once in shock and disbelief.

"Yes, but not until after the damage had been done. He feels really bad about what he's done."

"As he should!" Lita exclaimed.

"I'm not trying to make excuses for him," Mina said calmly. "But I've never seen him this miserable. Not even when he was getting into those arguments during the production of his second album. He's really torn up about this and he wants to make it up to her."

"Well, he'd better have something _big_ planned if he wants to win her back over," Paul commented.

"He kind of does," she smiled sheepishly. "But he needs your help to do it." She pointed to the three other members of Serena's band who looked up at her shocked.

"He can't be serious," Lita said. "Does he really think that we would help him after what he's done to her?"

"Darien knew that this was going to be a long shot…"

"Lita, calm down," Nick soothed the feisty woman. It wouldn't hurt to help out Darien, because even though he was putting Serena through so much pain right now, Nick could see that he was really good for her. They were meant to be together. "What does Darien want our help with?"

* * *

The following afternoon, Serena finally woke up to the sound of the hotel phone ringing. She groaned and picked up the headset with caution. "Hello?"

"Serena, do you know what you've done? The media is going nuts!" Sapphire yelled so loudly that she had to pull the phone away from her ear.

"Look, Sapphire, I don't want to talk about the interview, okay? So tell the media that they can shove their questions where the sun don't shine." She slammed the phone down, and then sighed. That probably wasn't the smartest idea that she had had, but it was just another on her long list. The first being that stupid interview. While she had slept she had time to think about what she had done. And stew she did. Serena was no longer heart broken about what had happened the night before.

Okay, maybe she was, but now she was more pissed than anything. And an angry Serena was always fun to deal with. With her newfound energy she walked around her hotel room, collecting all her stuff and throwing it in the appropriate bags. Once that was done, she grabbed a pair of jeans and an old t-shirt and walked into the bathroom. A good shower would help her get ready for the show that night, and it would wash away what was left of the tears that she cried over Darien Shields.

As she wiped the steam off the bathroom mirror she looked at her hair, the last streak of brunette was being stubborn and didn't want to wash out. At the moment it was in the center of her hair on the left side and it looked randomly placed like her neon-streaked hair that she had in high school. Her hair now fell to right at the top of her shoulders and she made a note to get it trimmed and to pick up some pink hair dye when they went to the next town. She picked up her curling iron and began the process of getting it just so. When she was done, her hair was slightly curled and there was only one strand that remained straight.

* * *

She made her way down to the hotel lobby, her black sunglasses already on and the hood of her zip-up hoodie already on. Lita, Paul, and Nick met her at the concierge desk and they didn't know what to say to her. The media was already buzzing outside waiting for her and her band to come out to ask them questions about, what else? The interview. What they didn't know was that Serena had already said her piece to the media about that interview. Or at least, she had said it to Sapphire.

Across the entrance hall they saw Darien and his band and they were staring at Serena. Well, at least, _Darien_ was staring at her. Serena felt it but chose to ignore it. He was probably still pissed at her about last night. Not that it mattered if that was the case, not anymore. She was also pissed at him and had every intention of putting that anger towards her music. Speaking of…

"Hey, remember that new song we've been working on?" She asked her band and they turned their attention back to her.

"Yeah," Nick replied. "What about it?"

"I finally got the lyrics for it and I want to perform it tonight," she said passionately. They exchanged looks, not sure how to take this. They had never performed a song before without practicing it vigorously first. They were now concerned. Had what had happened the previous night affected her more than they had previously thought?

"When during the set?" Paul asked her.

"The last song, instead of 'If I Had You.'" Now they weren't concerned for _her_. They were concerned for Darien. 'If I Had You' had always been her rebellious song, the one he hated to hear her perform but loved it anyway. If she was taking it out of their set that meant only one thing. She was pissed at Darien.

Oh boy…tonight's show was sure going to be interesting.

* * *

After surviving the media parasites without any injuries, the groups went to their respective corners and sat discussing silently the night's show. Darien though, couldn't help but think that this trip was almost just as awkward as the one from almost a month ago. Almost, but not quite. There was no shyness emanating off of Serena, this time it was anger and somehow he couldn't blame her. But he was going to make it right tonight. That much was true.

* * *

**BAGTHFan4Ever: OMG! I'm just so excited for tonight's show!**

**SerenaIsDaBest: I know, do you think Darien will sing with her again?**

**AngelsDoGo2Hell: He better, after that confession Serena made last night!**

**BAGTHFan4Ever: We'll just have to see, won't we?**

* * *

Denver was in love with Serena and Beautiful Angels Go to Hell. They had been screaming so loud all night that she could barely hear the music in the background. But now it was time for the final song of their set for the evening and her band was nervous about playing it considering they'd only done it once – without lyrics. Serena smiled reassuringly at her band and motioned to the crowd to quiet down. They did so immediately, and as soon as it was quiet someone shouted, "I love you, Serena!" She only smiled wider, no one knew that she was harboring such a deep anger for another pop star.

"I love you, too," she said into the microphone. "In fact, I love all of you guys. You've been amazing tonight but unfortunately, we've come to our final song of the evening." The crowd booed. "Don't worry though, I'm sure we'll be back again soon. Now, we usually do 'If I Had You' as our final song. But in response to certain events, I have a new song for you guys tonight. It's called 'What's it Gonna Be.'"

A guitar riff blasted through the theater and the crowd continued to cheer.

_Well, he don't need me, 'cause he wants to be free_   
_Well, he left me right, walked out the door last night_   
_When he calls me 'cause he needs me_   
_I feel torn inside_   
_So what's it gonna be this time?_   
_'Cause all you wanna see is me cry_   
_Yeah, I don't wanna stay around_   
_'Cause all you do is keep bringing me down_   
_So what's it gonna be, baby now?_

The crowd realized what the song was about quickly and they couldn't believe that Darien had done that to her. They continued cheering because the song was awesome but they were also plotting what they were going to do to Darien when he came onto the stage.

_Well, I don't need you, 'cause I've thought this through_   
_Yeah, I left you with_   
_With everything I could_   
_When you text me, 'cause you need me_   
_I just won't reply…_

* * *

Darien stood backstage frozen. It was killing him to listen to this and do nothing. But it was what he deserved. He had hurt her and now she was making him pay for it. God, he was going to be sick if he didn't make this right soon. The song ended and he heard her say, "Thank you and good night," before she walked past him. Totally ignoring him. Nick winked at him as he passed by to let him know that he was going to go through with the plan they had come up with that morning. Darien sighed before heading out onto the stage.

And walked out to a room full of boos. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who had understood the meaning behind her song. Well, this was going to be quite difficult to work with.

"Hey, Denver!" He exclaimed into the microphone only to get more boos in return. "Come on, Denver, please don't be like this. I know you've probably heard about the TV special and how I reacted to it. But, in my defense, I didn't watch it, until _after_ I made an ass out of myself." The crowd's boos stopped, now entirely interested. So, he hadn't done it on purpose? "And, if you guys could help me out with my apology, maybe we can get Serena back out here, to help me sing this song." The crowd cheered at that and the music began.

_Who the hell was he trying to fool?_ Serena thought bitterly backstage. He was _always_ making an ass out of himself and to add insult to injury he now claimed that he had seen the special. God, he was pompous, egotistical… the music cut in and Serena shrieked in anger when she realized what song he was singing.

_Hey, slow it down_   
_Whataya want from me?_   
_Whataya want from me?_

He was an asshole. Serena was now thoroughly done with Darien fucking Shields. He wanted her to sing this song with him? Oh, was he ever going to get his wish fulfilled and then some.

"Get me back my mic," she yelled at a stagehand that went scurrying. He brought her mic back and handed it to her. She took it and waited…

_Just don't give up on me_

Where was Serena? Darien thought desperately. She should have been up here by now, singing with him. The plan must have gone wrong…

_No, I won't let you down_

It was Serena's voice. Darien turned around and smiled as she walked back out on stage and the crowd cheered louder.

_So what_   
_Just don't give up, no_   
_Please don't give in, I won't let you down_   
_Oh, it messed me up_   
_I need a second to breathe_   
_Just keep coming around_   
_Hey, whataya want from me_

He finished off the song and then he saw her expression on her face. Something nagged in the back of his head. It looked like it wasn't going to be that easy to get back into Serena's good graces.

"Look, Serena, I'm - " He tried to apologize but she cut him off.

"Don't even," she breathed. "You know what I want from you, Darien? I want you to stop fucking up my songs, because while you have a life beyond music with your little 'playmates,' my music is all that I've got." And with that she turned on her heal and walked off the stage.


	10. Days 29-35: Breaking Point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't own Sailor Moon. Don't own the songs "I Knew I Loved You" by Savage Garden and "Better Than I Know Myself" by Adam Lambert.

Serena woke up the next morning, in a somewhat better mood than the day before. She was still angry, there was no doubt about that, but she now knew that it didn't matter. Her whole world wasn't going to be determined by some guy. She had tried to live that way before and it hadn't gone exactly as she planned. In fact, she was still recovering from _that_ particular blow, even if it was two years ago.

But starting today she was going to live her life the way she wanted to, and to do that she was going to need to go shopping. With a smile on her face, she swept back the covers and began to head towards the bathroom when she heard a knock on her door. She frowned. Who could that possibly be so early in the morning? Serena changed course and opened the door to find a bellhop whose face was obscured by a vase of red roses.

"Serena?" The bellhop asked.

"That's me," she replied. "Um…just put them on the table over there." She left the door open and watched as he came in and somehow managed to put the roses on the table she had pointed out. He smiled at her before leaving. She shook her head and closed the door before going to the roses to search for a card. She found it and opened the envelope.

_I'm sorry about last night and everything else._   
_Truce?_   
_Love,_   
_Darien_

Her eyes narrowed at his signature and just at the whole card in general. How _dare_ he try to win her over with her favorite flower! Hadn't he taken the hint last night? She wasn't ready to forgive him, and she _definitely_ wasn't open to any of his flirtatious attempts to try and win her back. In a haze of anger, she lifted the roses directly out of the vase and threw them into the garbage can in the kitchen. She tore the card to pieces and added it to the mix.

Her anger was so intense that she didn't even remember taking her shower. She blinked as she blow-dried her hair as quickly as she possibly could. This anger at Darien scared her a little bit. She hadn't really been this angry before. Not even at her parents when they were calling her a slut a few weeks ago. What was it about him that brought this kind of emotion out of her? She turned off the hair dryer and looked at herself in the mirror.

"Things are about to change again, Serena," she told herself. "And this time nothing is going to get in our way. We are going to do what we want, no matter the consequences." She smiled and walked out of the bathroom ready to take on the world.

* * *

It turned out that by leaving the hotel, Serena got her wish. She got to take on the world…or at least, the paparazzi. They were swarming the front of the hotel as Lita, Mina, Raye, and her walked out to go on their shopping spree. They started screaming once they saw them, and it was mostly about what had happened the night before. Serena didn't say anything and just pulled up her hood and continued to the limo. As soon as all the girls were inside, they started hounding her about what had happened last night as well. Only she couldn't avoid them, nor did she want to.

"I'm just really pissed off at him right now," she said honestly. "And then hearing him try to win me back by singing one of my songs? That just sent me over the edge. He doesn't get to do that, not after what he's done." She looked away from them and out the window as the scenery passed by. This signaled to them that she didn't want to continue talking about it anymore. The rest of the ride passed in silence.

At their first stop though, the girls raised their eyebrows. It was a hair salon. Now, just what were they doing here? Serena climbed out of the limo first and made her way into the building. The person at the desk stared at her for a second before smiling.

"Serena from Beautiful Angels Go to Hell, what can I help you with today?" The girls who followed the blonde in were curious about this as well.

"Well, I'm here to get my hair cut and some highlights done," she replied with a smile of her own. "What about you girls?" She turned to the stunned Mina, Raye, and Lita. Lita, who'd known Serena for a while, knew that her wanting highlights was not a good sign. She was going back to her rebellious ways, back to ways where she was almost self-destructive. The stunned look lasted only momentarily for Mina and Raye who were never ones to pass an opportunity to get pampered.

"Highlights and a trim," they both said in unison and were led to chairs in the back of the building.

* * *

Day 30

* * *

Darien stared as Serena, Raye, and Mina made their way into the dining room for breakfast the following morning. He couldn't help but let his eyes wander over her body. He had seen her briefly the day before, but that girl and this one were two different people. The Serena from yesterday had hair that barely touched her shoulders. Now her hair was cut sharply to her ears, and was streaked with neon pink strands. She had also been taking lessons from Mina and Raye when it came to her clothing. Instead of wearing jeans and a t-shirt, like she normally did, she was wearing destroyed jean capiris and a burned out off the shoulder black t-shirt with some sort of silver foil on the front.

His eyes drank her in, and he wanted desperately to go over to where she was sitting and kiss her deeply. But he had messed up. Messed up majorly. Something that he was trying to fix, but apparently, according to the maid who cleaned her room the night before, she wasn't going for it just yet. He sighed and got up from the table to leave the room. He had some writing to do, and another gift to pick out.

Darien met her eyes as she quickly glanced at him and then looked away. That one look made his heart freeze in his chest. He had seen her anger in that look, and knew that he had a long way to go if he wanted to win her back.

Serena sighed as she watched Darien leave. Her anger that had been fueling her for the last few days was starting to fade. Instead of being mad about what had happened she was feeling depressed, and she was starting to wonder if she had pushed things too far. She had wished that he had stared at her a little bit longer, because if he had he would have seen his latest gift of apology hanging around her neck.

Just like the previous morning, a bellboy had appeared at her door with something for her from Darien. This time it was a small black box with a purple ribbon. She opened it and had almost dropped it in surprise. A silver chain with a pink and purple guitar pick pendent lay on velvet inside the box. But it was what was engraved on the pick that made her tear up a little bit.

_I knew I loved you before I met you_

It was almost enough to make her go to his room and fall into his arms. Almost, but not quite. She wished she could tell him that the way to her heart wasn't through these expensive gifts, but to a public declaration of love. So she would wait, to see if he would do just that. She sighed and tuned back into the conversation that her two new friends were having.

* * *

That night, at the end of the concert, Darien did just what Serena wanted him to do. He made his public declaration of love through a song. It was his last song of the night, and the crowd was clapping and cheering with everything in them. But they noticed the look on his face and began to quiet down.

"I know that a lot has been going on in the press these last few days about Serena and I," he began. "So I wanted to set the record straight. The day the interview aired, I was still annoyed with Serena for rejecting me so I didn't watch it. Right after it aired, I ran into her in the hall of the hotel we were staying at. We got into a fight and I told her that she was ruining my life, not aware of what she had said in that interview. I eventually did watch it, but by the time that I did it was too late to make it up to her. But I'm trying anyway."

The crowd applauded.

"So, I'm hoping that Serena is listening somewhere backstage, because I mean every word," he said, and motioned for the music to start.

_Maybe it's intuition, but some things you just don't question_   
_Like in your eyes, I see my future in an instant_   
_And there it goes I think I found my best friend_   
_I know it might sound like more than a little crazy_   
_But I believe_   
_I knew I loved you before I met you_   
_I think I dreamed you into life_   
_I knew I loved you before I met you_   
_I have been waiting all my life_   
_There's just no rhyme or reason_   
_Only the sense of completion_   
_And in your eyes, I see the missing pieces_   
_I'm searching for, I think I found my way home_   
_I know that it might sound more than a little crazy_   
_But I believe_   
_I knew I loved you before I met you_   
_I think I dreamed you into life_   
_I knew I loved you before I met you_   
_I have been waiting all my life_   
_A thousand angels dance around you_   
_I am complete now that I found you_

The females in the crowd were crying, and the rest held up their cell phones and swayed back and forth to the music. It was a touching dedication to Serena, and they hoped that she would forgive the pop star. Who wouldn't after a song like that?

But Serena never heard any of it. Oh, sure, she should have, because she _had_ been backstage for most of Darien's set. But before his second to last song, she had been whisked away and into her dressing room. She didn't understand what was going on and seeing the grim faces of Nick, Paul, and Lita only made her more confused.

"Guys, what's going on?" She asked trying to read the expressions on their faces.

"Serena," Lita replied in a calm tone. "It's about Alan." That shocked her. She hadn't heard his name since she had left Royal Oak when the news had done a brief story about the trial the day after her interview with Diane Sawyer aired. What had that idiot done now?

"What about Alan?" She asked with a shaky voice.

"Remember what you said back in Royal Oak when you first saw Alan?"

"Not really," Serena replied. "Royal Oak was sort of a blur of events."

"Well, you said something about how he was out early," Paul aided. "And you were right. Alan _did_ get out early, because of good behavior and because he hired a lawyer to take another look at the case."

"And why would he do that?"

"Because he thinks he was wrongly imprisoned." Serena's jaw dropped open and she was quickly informed about what had been going on while she was performing and watching Darien's performance. While they informed her, they left the theater and went back to the hotel to watch the news. The lead story was that Alan had filed a wrongful imprisonment suit and was suing Serena for damages. She didn't know what to think about all of this, and just sat there dumbfounded. Wrongful imprisonment? Was he on drugs? The guy had raped her for crying out loud. He had _forced_ himself on her at a party two years ago. She hadn't imagined that.

Serena finally stood up from the couch and stalked out of the room. She couldn't stand being there anymore, couldn't stand being in that room watching as a man who had violated her lied on national TV. It was just too much to take, and she needed something to take the edge off. She blindly made her way downstairs to the bar and took a seat. The bartender looked at her and put a glass on the counter.

"What's your poison?" She asked.

That caught her by surprise too. Serena looked up and into the comforting eyes of a woman with green eyes. "You do realize I'm underage, right? That you could possibly get in trouble for serving me alcohol?"

"Honey, I know that, but you look like you're in desperate need of a drink. Besides, you're here in the hotel, it's not like you're going to go make a spectacle of yourself. So again, what's your poison?"

"Vodka," she said, going back to her old drug of choice. The bartender poured her a shot and she swung it back before motioning for another one. And that one became another, and another….

* * *

Day 31

* * *

Serena was the kind of girl who could always hold her liquor, a fact that she learned early on during her party days in high school. However, just because she could hold her alcohol didn't mean that she was immune to the hangover the next day. Her head was pounding when she woke up that morning, and she was thankful that it was overcast and cloudy, or else she would have been squinting at the brightness of the sun. She shuffled into the kitchen and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, and then to the bathroom for an aspirin. Once she did that she thought back on what happened last night, and realized that she didn't want to remember. Alan wasn't done causing her trouble, and she didn't know what to do.

Darien was sitting in the back of the bus, waiting for Serena to board. He was surprised he hadn't heard from her sooner after what had happened last night. After his performance, he had gone backstage to find that she had already left for the hotel. That didn't bring about good feelings, and when she didn't come to see him this morning those bad feelings intensified. What if she hadn't seen the performance? And if she hadn't then what was the reason? She couldn't have still been mad at him. She was wearing the necklace he gave her. His mind fell deeper into what–ifs.

She finally boarded the bus, but she did not look happy. In fact, she looked almost sick. What was going on? He got up to find out, when a hand was placed over his own. He turned his head, and found Raye shaking her head.

"Leave her alone today, Darien," she whispered. "She went through a lot last night."

"What do you mean?"

"Before your last performance, her band ushered her back to her dressing room and then shortly after they left to go back to the hotel. Apparently, they found out why Alan was in Royal Oak."

Darien hissed at the name. "Why was he there?"

"He got out early for good behavior, and now he's suing the state of Michigan for wrongful imprisonment and Serena for damages."

_Oh, my God,_ he thought. No wonder she had left so early and looked like she was about to be sick. The drama between Alan and her wasn't over yet, and she didn't look like she could take much more. He stayed back and decided that even though he had bared his heart to her last night, that it wasn't time to hound her about it just yet.

* * *

Serena had conference calls with her lawyers for the rest of the afternoon. They told her not to be worried about the lawsuit that was being brought against her. Any rightful judge would throw out the case, since they had DNA evidence and knew that the only reason he was suing her was because of her recent fame. Even though it was meant to reassure her, she still felt uneasy about the whole thing. What if a judge found cause to try the case, _because_ of her fame? Because of the song that she did where she was basically soliciting for sex? Serena leaned back and regretted doing that music video for "For Your Entertainment." Her parents were right, she had been selling herself as a cheap whore.

But how was she supposed to know that it might come back and bite her in the ass? She picked up a glass and threw it at the mirror in anger. It shattered into many pieces, something she found great satisfaction in. She was just done with everything. It seemed that no matter how much she tried to put her past behind her and start anew, something would stop her and remind her of who she used to be. The party girl who knew how to ruin everything. She scoffed.

Fine, if that's how everyone was going to see her now, then that was just exactly who she was going to be.

* * *

Days 32-34

* * *

**BEAUTIFUL ANGEL NOT AS ANGELIC AS SHE APPEARS TO BE!**

**SERENA SHOWS HER TRUE COLORS!**

**WITH BEHAVIOR LIKE THIS, MAYBE SHE DIDN'T GET RAPED AT ALL!**

The tabloids' front pages told the story of what happened over the next two days. Serena had indeed gone back to being the party girl that she was in high school. She drank and partied every night after the shows and danced scandalously with random strangers. All of which the paparazzi caught on film and the media, being the sharks that they are, had a field day with the new coverage. What caused the 'goody two shoes Angel' to go off the deep end? Little did they know it was the media's coverage that was doing this to her.

The first day, when the tabloids came out no one in the groups paid it much mind. She was just letting off some steam, it had been a rough couple of days for her and she needed to cool off. Besides she hadn't done anything too damaging…yet. The second day was much different. Along with her drinking and dancing, she had destroyed hotel property by having another fit of rage in her room. The media caught wind of it and splashed it across the headlines.

Sapphire came to talk to her then.

She woke up that morning on the couch to her head pounding. Another hangover, her third in as many days, but the pounding continued and seemed more intense than her previous hangovers had been. That's when she realized that the pounding in her head, wasn't really in her head at all. It was actually someone knocking on her door. She peered at the clock. It was eleven in the morning. No wonder someone was pounding on her door. She was running behind schedule. She got off the couch and avoided the feathers and glass that was strewn across the floor. When she opened the door it was to a very pissed off Sapphire.

"Serena," he said sternly and came in without an invitation.

"Oh, sure, just come on in," she said sarcastically. She closed the door and turned to face him, her arms crossed in front of her chest. "What can I do for you, Sapphire?"

He looked around the room, "So, it's true then. The hotel is really billing us over five thousand dollars because of damages _you_ caused to the room."

"Five thousand dollars? Hm…I didn't think it was quite that extravagant," she walked over and picked her jeans off the floor before she shimmied into them. He watched all of this with a look of disdain. When she looked up he was standing directly in front of her. "Whoa…back up a little bit there, Sapphire. You're a little too close for comfort."

"I don't mind paying the five thousand dollars in damages," he said sternly. "And I don't mind you partying so out of control, because you've been through a lot. But there's only so much my patience will allow. If you pull another stunt like this, Serena, I am kicking you off the tour. And believe me when I say this, you _don't_ want me as an enemy." He backed up a little bit and smiled at her. "Now, that that's out of the way, don't you have a practice to attend?" He turned and opened the door to find a confused Darien walking down the hall.

"Sapphire?" He asked and looked in. Serena was standing there, her hair a mess, her jeans not buttoned, and her tank top ruffled. What exactly had been going on in there?

"Hey Darien, just having a quick conversation with Serena," he said and shut the door behind him. "So are you ready for the show tomorrow?" They continued walking down the hall, even though Darien was throwing inquisitive glances back to Serena's door. What exactly had they been talking about? Was it about her partying? He had to admit that last night's events had been a little extreme and he hoped that it was going to stop soon. Yes, she had been through a lot, but there was only so much leeway that he wanted to give her. He was coming to the end really soon.

Serena had taken Sapphire's threat seriously, and had been practicing all day for tomorrow's show. Unlike with previous cities, this stage had a staircase leading up to an upper part of the stage. She wanted to use that somehow, and she had been talking with her band mates to figure out how it could be put into play. She was on her way back to the hotel when she heard someone on the street talk about her.

"That Serena chick is just like any girl out there," a guy in front of her said. "She puts on a good show, makes you want her, and then at the last second pulls away and changes her mind. She is the worst kind of tease. I feel so bad for that Alan guy. If I was him I'd be fighting those charges too. She was totally asking for it."

She fought back tears as she walked into the hotel and went directly to the bar. She was going to go back to her room and have a quiet night in, but after what she heard that guy say about her? She couldn't take it and she needed to let off some steam.

* * *

Later on that night, about six or seven drinks in, Serena was having a grand old time joking with a bunch of guys that had trickled in during the evening. They were obviously flirting with her, but she didn't mind. They could flirt all they wanted it didn't mean that she was going to take one of them to her room that night. Despite previous beliefs she wasn't that kind of girl.

After another few drinks, one of the guys she was talking with started to get a little handsy. She tried to tell him to back off, but he wouldn't listen. She slapped away his hands a few times, but he still wouldn't take the hint. She was about to scream bloody murder, when another set of hands pushed the guy back. He stumbled and looked up at the newcomer.

"What the hell, man? I was just trying to have a good time," he sputtered.

"Yeah, well, the lady isn't interested," a deep velvet voice replied. Serena looked up in shock, to find Darien staring down at her. The guy decided it wasn't worth it and stumbled out of the room.

"Thanks," she replied and got up to go back to her room. She had enough for the night. Just as she was about to leave the room, Darien pulled on her upper arm harshly. She whipped back and glared at him. "Darien, just what in the world do you think you are doing?" She hissed.

"No, the question is, just what the hell do you think _you're_ doing, Serena? This isn't you! You don't drink your problems away!" He exclaimed.

Serena laughed darkly, "You don't know me, Darien. This is exactly how I used to be before I came to Los Angeles. I'm just giving the crowd and the media the show that they want to see." She tried to pull out of his grasp, but he wouldn't let her go. He kept staring at her, his azure blue eyes searching her own. What he saw must have shocked him because he let go of her arm.

"No," he whispered as he looked at her.

"What?"

"No," he said louder. "You don't get to be this way, Serena. I won't stand by and watch you destroy yourself. I know you have been unhappy and what I did to you was inexcusable. But I've been trying to make up for that for a week. Yet you've ignored them just so you could act out. If you don't feel the same about me anymore and are so unhappy being on this tour, then please, feel free to leave. No one is making you stay, and this behavior is so juvenile for someone who's been through what you have." And with that he walked away, leaving a stunned Serena in his wake.

She blinked when she realized the bar had quieted down for his speech and was now staring at her. She had felt like he had slapped her, but it was the wake up call that she needed. The way she had been acting the last few days was not the person she was anymore. She had moved passed all that drama, and Darien, had made her see reason. She walked out of the bar and went straight to her room where she stayed up the rest of the night to work on something that would make everything between the two of them right again.

* * *

Day 35

* * *

Lita, Nick and Paul were waiting at her door, the following morning. She smiled and let them into her room. They had a lot to discuss and somehow she knew just by looking at them that they knew about what had happened the night before.

"How?" Serena asked.

"YouTube," Paul answered pulling out his phone and showing her the video that someone had taken of the 'fight' Serena and Darien had had last night. She sighed and hit stop on the video. She was about to hand Paul back his phone when something caught her eye under the related videos.

"I didn't know Darien had a new song," she said and clicked on the video. She realized that it was from the concert a few nights back, and it was his last song of his performance. The one she had missed because of the whole Alan drama. She watched it and felt her hand drift subconsciously to the chain that she wore around her neck. He had done what she had wanted him to do and this was a few days ago.

"God, I really have been an idiot, haven't I?" She whispered and looked at her fellow band mates. "Well, the good news is that I'm going to fix it and I finally figured out how to use that staircase."

* * *

Darien had been avoiding Serena all day. The words he had said to her last night were still echoing in his ears. They had been harsh and he realized that if she really left the tour his heart would break, but it had to be said. He didn't want to see her be so miserable. As the hour of the concert drew nearer, he felt nervous, knowing that if Serena was going to leave she would probably say something about it at tonight's concert.

He walked out of his dressing room and watched as Serena took to the stage to start the show. He turned to the TV that was in the hall and watched with abated breath. The lights dimmed and the crowd began to cheer as a large screen came down on the stage.

_"No, you don't get to be this way, Serena. I won't stand by and watch you destroy yourself. I know you have been unhappy and what I did to you was inexcusable. But I've been trying to make up for that for a week. Yet you've ignored them just so you could act out. If you don't feel the same about me anymore and are so unhappy being on this tour, then please, feel free to leave. No one is making you stay, and this behavior is so juvenile for someone who's been through what you have."_

The lights came up and Serena was nowhere to be found as music started to play. Darien frowned, where was she? He saw her though appear at the top of the staircase.

_Cold as ice_   
_And more bitter than a December_   
_Winter night_   
_That's how I treated you_   
_And I know that I_   
_I sometimes tend to lose my temper_   
_And I crossed the line_   
_Yeah, and that's the truth_

She was at the middle of the stairs and stopped as she looked at the crowd who were hanging on every lyric she sang.

_I know it get's hard sometimes_   
_But I could never_   
_Leave your side_   
_No matter what I say_   
_'Cause if I wanted to go I would have gone by now_   
_But I really need you near me_   
_To keep my mind off the edge_   
_If I wanted to leave I would have left by now_   
_But you're the only one that knows me_   
_Better than I know myself_   
_All along_   
_I tried to pretend that it didn't matter_   
_If I was alone_   
_But deep down I know_   
_If you were gone_   
_For even a day I wouldn't know_   
_Which way to turn_   
_'Cause I'm lost without you_   
_I know it gets hard sometimes_   
_But I could never_   
_Leave your side_   
_No matter what I say_   
_'Cause if I wanted to go I would have gone by now_   
_But I really need you near me_   
_To keep my mind off the edge_   
_If I wanted to leave I would have left by now_   
_But you're the only one that knows me_   
_Better than I know myself_

She was sitting down now and looking very pensive. The screen behind her was flashing all of the tabloid covers from the last few days.

_I get kind of dark_   
_Let it go too far_   
_I can be obnoxious at times_   
_But try and see my heart_   
_'Cause I need you now_   
_So don't let me down_

Serena peered up, as she began to stand.

_You're the only thing in this world  
I would die without_

She jumped from the stairs to the stage below and when she landed she hit the highest note possible.

_'Cause if I wanted to go_   
_I would have gone by now_   
_But I really need you near me_   
_To keep my mind off the edge_   
_If I wanted to leave I would have left by now_   
_But you're the only one that knows me_   
_Better than I know myself_

The crowd erupted into cheers and she smiled as she wiped away a few tears. It had taken a lot out of her, but she had done it. She just hoped that…

The cheers got louder and she couldn't understand why until an arm wound around her waist and turned her to face someone. The face that she wanted to see the most right now, Darien's, was smiling at her.

"A little overdramatic, don't you think?" He asked her.

"Maybe," she replied with a smile of her own. "But did it work?"

"Oh, I think so," he said and leaned down to capture her lips with his own.


	11. Day 46: Happy UnBirthday, Serena

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't own Sailor Moon. Don't own the songs "Hold Me" by Savage Garden and "Shady" by Adam Lambert.

Serena was in absolute bliss. How could she not be? Darien and her were finally together after weeks of unnecessary drama, and their tour was the biggest success – even bigger than the record company had ever anticipated. But more importantly, the reason she was so blissed out was because of her relationship with Darien. He got her more than Alan or any other guy that she had sort of dated over the years. Not to mention he was insanely patient. He understood that just because they were a couple now, it didn't mean that they could jump into bed together right away. And considering his history with women, the fact that he was willing to wait touched her deeply.

That's why she didn't keep him waiting too long. Oh, she understood his concern. He didn't want to rush their relationship and the last time and first time she had done it was when Alan had raped her two years ago. He didn't want to push her into something that she wasn't ready for yet. But what he didn't realize was that Serena, like with everything else in her life that was difficult, overcame it and became stronger from it. She hadn't realized that she had overcome her rape until she started toying with the idea of dating Darien. But, she still didn't want to jump into things too quickly, so she told herself she would wait a week.

She didn't make it that long. Last night, after the concert where there was apparent sexual chemistry during their performance of "What You Like," Darien had had a special dinner prepared for them and sent up to the room. They had dined and talked about a lot of things, avoiding the subject of their duet together. It was when she had gotten up to leave that things got complicated. He had escorted her to the door, and just as she was about to go, he had leaned down to give her a good night kiss. That kiss was both of their undoings.

It had started simple enough. A light peck on the lips, that was quickly deepened and should have broken off as soon as they broke for air. But it didn't. The unresolved sexual tension that they had tried to avoid on stage finally broke through the wall they had kept up. They went in again for another kiss and Darien ended up closing the door to the room as the moved back into his bedroom. This time when he broke away, there was a question in his eyes one that she gave her consent to with a nod of her head.

The following morning, Serena awoke with a smile on her face and her blissed out feeling still pounding through her veins. She wasn't even angry with herself for not lasting her weeklong term. If this was the feeling she could expect every time she gave into her desires, then hell. Who needed time limits for this sort of thing? She sighed and snuggled deeper into the pillow, not wanting to face the day just yet. Even though the world outside shouldn't be too bad considering there was nothing spinning in the media these days to ruin it.

But in this business, anything could happen.

The arm that was around her waist pulled her in closer to the solid body that was behind her. She smiled some more and let out a small moan when he kissed her on the shoulder. She turned and faced him, smiling some more at the sight of those deep azure blue eyes staring in adoration at her.

"Good morning," she whispered, a smile still playing on her lips.

"'Morning," he replied nipping at her neck. "This is such a wonderful way to wake up." She bit back another moan and felt that the smile on her face would be permanently frozen there. She was really regretting waiting so long to be in a relationship with Darien, especially if this was the way she could have been feeling since that first night back in Pennsylvania. He kissed her deeply on the lips as his hands began to do wicked things to her body, yet again. They were interrupted though with a long and persistent knock on the door. They pulled away from each other, groaning at the interruption.

Darien swept back the covers and went searching for his boxers while Serena grabbed her bra from the lampshade and grabbed the matching panties from the floor. As soon as he had slipped into his boxers, he turned around only to find her picking up her jean shorts from the floor. She met his lusty gaze with a look of her own, and was just about to cross the room, when the door to the room opened and closed with a loud bang. Their staring match broke and she quickly slipped on her shorts and then went to grab Darien's shirt before whoever had walked in saw her. But it was too late.

"Okay, I know it's your day off, Darien, but that doesn't give you an excuse to sleep in until almost noon," Sapphire said as he walked into the room. "You know, you could be over at the arena practicing for tomorrow or even…" he stopped short when he finally took in what he had walked in on. Serena had just started to throw on Darien's black t-shirt before he had come in, and had frozen on the spot at his entrance. Sapphire's eyes roamed over the room, taking note of the bed and the rumpled sheets and then staring at her in only her shorts and bra. His eyes lingered for longer than they probably should have, until he licked his lips and switched his gaze back to Darien.

"Well, I guess things last night went…" he paused for the words. "…Better than expected? Good morning, Serena." She blushed as she slipped on the shirt.

"I don't think that's any of your business, Sapphire," Darien replied shortly. "Now, why are you here?"

"I'm just here to get you going. Like I said, even though it's your day off, you should still be practicing or writing some new material. The record company is getting a bit antsy for something new from you."

"I guess I'd better get to work on that," he sighed and ran his hand through his already messy hair.

"Mhm. And as for you," Sapphire turned to face Serena. "Can I talk with you later?"

"Uh, sure, but about what?" She replied a little nervous. The last time Sapphire had spoken with her was about the destruction of hotel property, and he had scared the crap out of her.

"Oh, nothing to be too concerned about. I'll meet you down in the bar later tonight." He turned on his heal and walked out of the room, leaving her confused in his wake. What could he possibly have to talk to her about? She shook it off hoping it was nothing.

"So," Darien whispered in her ear. "Want to join me in the shower?"

* * *

After their shower, Serena and Darien made their way downstairs to meet up with everyone else for a late breakfast. When they entered the dining room, everyone was smiling at the couple.

"Well, I guess you two had a rather late night," Jason was smiling from ear to ear.

"Shut up, Jason," Mark said, punching him in the arm. "What they did or didn't do last night isn't any of our business. Serena, we already ordered you some pancakes." He pulled out the chair on his left. She gratefully sat down and muttered her thanks, as Darien sat down in the chair next to her and next to Lita.

"Darien," she greeted.

"Lita," he replied a little hesitant. The last time that they had talked was the morning after Serena and him had kissed on stage. She had very seriously told him, as did the other members of her band, that if he hurt Serena in any way, and they found out about it, that he was going to wish that he hadn't been born. Needless to say, that it sort of scared the shit out of him and he hadn't wanted to be around Lita and the others alone, since.

She chuckled, "The look on your face right now!"

This caught Serena's attention. "Lita, what are you doing to Darien?"

"Nothing, just greeting him," she rolled her eyes. Serena nodded and turned back to talking to Mark. "Don't you think that six days is kind of a short time?"

"Yes, I do," he replied. "But Serena wanted to and I made sure that she wanted to. Believe me, Lita, I don't want to hurt her."

His response pleased the tall Amazon like woman, because she smiled and patted him lightly on the shoulder. "I do believe you. Your friends are right, you have changed since meeting her."

"I'm trying." The conversation stopped as the waiter brought out Darien and Serena's breakfast dishes. Scrambled eggs, hash browns, and toast were placed in front of Darien. While a plate of pancakes was placed in front of the blonde, only something was off with her dish. There was a candle in the middle of the stack. Darien and her raised their eyebrows. What was going on?

"You didn't think we'd forget, did you, Serena?" Nick asked from beside Lita.

"Forget?" She repeated. "Forget wha – oh. I can't believe it. Is it already?"

"It is," Paul nodded. Then everyone at the table except for Darien and her launched into,

_"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Serena. Happy birthday to you."_

Darien's eyes widened. It was her birthday? How come he didn't know this? God, he felt really horrible right now. Serena was his girlfriend and they had known each other almost two months now. _And_ they were sleeping together. Yet, he didn't know when her birthday was? How crappy of a boyfriend was he? He turned to her, and watched as she blew out the candle.

"I hope you wished for a better boyfriend," he whispered to her.

"And why would I do that?" She asked flabbergasted.

"Because this one didn't even know that it was your birthday and since I didn't know, I didn't get you a gift."

"Is that all?" She asked, laughing her magical laugh that he loved so much about her. "Don't worry about it, Darien, and as for a gift, I've got the best one a girl could ask for. You." She leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips. He kissed her back and smiled as she pulled away. He was a lucky man to have such a wonderful girl as his girlfriend, and because of that she deserved something special from him on her birthday.

With that thought he turned back to his breakfast and the conversation that everyone seemed to be having.

"We have to do _something_ ," Mina said from beside Mark. "We haven't had a day off in almost three weeks! We have to go out and have some fun! And now we have even more reason to with it being Serena's birthday and all!"

"Hate to rain on the party, but I have to go to the arena and work on some new music, per Sapphire's orders," Darien replied.

"Oh, that is _so_ boring!" Mina exclaimed and started to pout. The whole group exchanged looks knowing that if they didn't do something soon, she was going to get worse, which would be bad for everyone in the room.

"It doesn't have to be," Serena replied thinking up something fast. "We can all go down to the arena and just start messing around, sort of like a group brainstorm. It will be fun, trust me." The blondes looked at each other, and some sort of understanding passed between them.

"Okay, fine, but you _better_ have some cool new stuff that you've been working on, Serena. Your music is always really fun!" She smiled and winked before disappearing upstairs to change into an appropriate outfit. Serena looked at everyone else before they all started laughing over Mina's antics.

"Well, she might be crazy, but she is right about one thing," Darien whispered. "Your music is always really fun." He kissed her cheek as she blushed and tried to concentrate on eating her pancakes. Her twentieth birthday was turning out amazing, and to think it had only just begun.

* * *

After they had finished eating, the girls had gone upstairs to change and freshen up, while they were doing that the boys were loitering downstairs waiting for them. Darien had his phone out to make a call. He had a girl's birthday present to arrange.

The person he was calling picked up after two rings. "Darien, what's going on?"

"Hey, I need a favor."

"What is it?"

"It's Serena's birthday, and I need to get her a gift. Do you have any ideas?"

"Oh," there was silence. "Let's see…well, her album finally went platinum yesterday. We could give her the usual parameters when it comes to these things, without the ceremony, of course."

"That's perfect! Can it be done and up here by tonight?"

"Yes, I'll get right on it."

"Thanks, Sapphire," Darien said and hung up the phone as the girls came back downstairs.

* * *

Sapphire ended the call and took a sip from his drink before throwing the glass at the wall. It broke into multiple pieces, and usually it would make him feel better but today it wasn't. And it was all because of _her_. Fucking Serena and her blonde hair and her singing voice.

God, she was a fucking disease. He hated that woman with every fiber of his being. Ever since she had shown up on the scene, Darien had gotten further and further out of his control. True, the record sales hadn't taken as much of a nosedive as he thought they would with her around, but still. She was _not_ good for him, and the way that they were looking, Darien and her were getting deeper. If finding her in his room with a rumpled bed and half naked this morning was any indication. God, just the thought was making his blood boil.

The bitch wasn't even supposed to be on the tour. It was supposed to be his younger sister who was supposed to be the opening act of Darien's tour and who would win over the playboy's heart and finally have him settle down. They had been planning this since he had become Darien's manager. But they didn't want to make it look suspicious, so they had arranged for her to be in the mix of the second day auditions. The round that they hadn't gotten to because of that bitch!

But that was okay. He had a plan to get rid of her once and for all and to finally put his original plan back on track. It was a good thing he was such a powerful man with some great contacts.

"Enjoy it while you can, Serena," he said as he called a number to put her birthday present from Darien in place. Then he would make sure his was in place before their conversation later on tonight.

* * *

The group had made it to the arena over an hour ago, but hadn't worked on any music. Instead, someone had brought along a deck of cards and they were playing a few rounds of bullshit. It turned out that Darien and Mark were horrible liars while Serena and Raye were excellent. After the third round, where Mark had gotten called with almost all the deck, he threw the cards down and said,

"Weren't we supposed to be writing out some new tunes?"

"Aw, you're just saying that because you're a sore loser, honey," Mina replied and kissed him on the cheek. "But he's right. So who wants to go first?"

Darien picked up his journal and began ruffling through the pages. "I guess I will. I've been working on this song for weeks now, and as usual it just doesn't sound right."

"And as usual, you're probably just being modest," Serena replied. "C'mon let us hear it." He rolled his eyes at her, but smiled anyway as he went to the piano and started playing out a melody before singing.

_Hey, yeah, if we can't find a way out of these problems_   
_Than maybe we don't need this_   
_Standing face to face_   
_Enemies at war we build defenses and secret hiding places_   
_But I need you to_   
_Hold me tonight_   
_But I need you to_   
_Say it's all right_   
_But I'm going to need you_   
_To make the first stand_   
_'Cause tonight I'm finding it hard_   
_To be your man_

His fingers teetered, as he couldn't decide whether or not he wanted to stop playing or continue on. Serena rolled her eyes again, stood up and walked over to him. She ushered for him to continue to play.

_Hey, yeah, more than angry words I hate this silence  
It's getting so loud  
Well, I wanna scream  
With bitterness that silence these emotions  
It's getting hard to breathe  
So tell me is happiness  
Worth more than a golden diamond ring  
I'm willing to do anything  
To calm a storm in my heart  
I've never been the praying kind  
But lately I've been down upon my knees  
Not looking for a miracle  
Just a reason to believe  
But I need you to  
Hold me tonight  
But I need you to  
Say it's all right  
But I'm need you to  
Make the first stand  
_ ' _Cause tonight I'm finding it hard to be your man_

This time, Darien did stop playing and smiled sheepishly. "That's all I have so far, maybe later you can help me write the bridge before the final chorus repeat?"

"Of course, I already have a few ideas," she replied and flipped to a new page and started scribbling something down. She showed it to him and he nodded in absolute awe of her as he usually was. He started playing the melody again and nodded to her, "Your writing, let me hear you sing it."

_Do you remember not long ago_   
_When we used to live for the moment_   
_Cherish each moment_   
_Now we don't live we get tense_   
_We just run for our lives_   
_So alone_   
_That's why you gotta hold me_

Darien nodded. "Perfect, as always." He kissed her on the tip of her nose and she smiled. "Now, it's your turn."

"What song do you think we should do guys?" She asked her band.

"I have an idea, but you're not going to like it," Nick said and went over to his guitar.

"I already don't like the sound of this. What's on your mind, Nick?"

"I think you should do one of those songs that you wrote last week."

She sighed. "I knew I wasn't going to like it. No, definitely not."

"Oh, come on, Sere!" Paul exclaimed. "They aren't that bad, in fact we've already been working on the melody for one of them."

Darien and his group watched with interest and wonder what was going on. What was this song that the band wanted her to sing, but she refused to even though she had wrote it?

He nudged her. "What's up?"

She looked at him and sighed again. "You know how I don't get drunk when I drink a lot?" He nodded. "Well, instead of that I found that I write differently while inebriated. And while I was having my 'episodes' last week, I wrote a few new songs, and apparently, they want me to sing them because they are really good." She shot a look at her band.

Darien stared at her and smiled, "I don't doubt that they are. Why don't you sing one and let us determine if you're right or not?"

"Seriously?" She searched his face, to see that he was indeed serious about this. She sighed for a third time and looked at her band before looking back to him. "Remember this was before we got together, so I cannot be held responsible for what the content may entail."

"Understood. Now, c'mon I wanna hear your greatness," he smiled again.

Serena got off the piano bench and stood next to her band as they discussed what song in particular they were going to do. She nodded in understanding and then sat down in a chair that was nearby. A haunting beat started and then Serena began to sing.

_Baby, I'm on the hunt_   
_Baby I've got my target on you_   
_Trouble is what I want_   
_And I'm gonna do just what I have to_   
_Get your ass down to the front_   
_Go and roll it out, I dare you_   
_Sorry I'm kind of drunk_   
_Did I just hear you say_   
_Your game was brand new?_   
_No I ain't broken but I_   
_Need a fix_   
_That satisfaction when I get my kicks_   
_I'm up all night_   
_I'm outside_   
_Don't turn on the light_   
_'Cause I'm feeling so shady lately_   
_C'mon and take me underground_   
_Deep under the streets_   
_C'mon and take me, take me down_   
_Where freaks like us can meet_   
_Turn it up, turn it up_   
_Turn it way up_   
_Don't stop the beat_   
_C'mon and turn me, turn me out_   
_'Cause I'm feeling so shady lately_   
_C'mon and give me a shot_   
_Gonna knock it back_   
_Forget all my blues_   
_Yeah it really hits the spot_   
_Feeling pretty fierce in my dancing shoes_   
_No I ain't broken_   
_But I need a fix_   
_That satisfaction when I_   
_Get my kicks_   
_I'm up all night_   
_I'm outside_   
_Don't turn on the lights_

The music stopped and Serena put her head in her hands as she looked at the floor of the arena. She tried to hide the fact that her hands were shaking, but Darien had come to know her too well since the tour started. He walked over and pulled her to her feet and held her close. They were the only ones in the room now because the others had seen that this was an intimate moment for only the two of them and had left to wait outside. He massaged her back and kissed the top of her head.

"The song was excellent," he whispered.

"But it was the old me," she replied back. "That's not who I am anymore." She stepped back from him and looked at him, hoping to see some sort of disgust that she had written and sung a song that literally rubbed her past and recent wild girl ways in his face. But there was nothing there except for love.

"It's okay," he replied. "You can still sing it. Believe me you're not going to turn into that person again just because you're singing a song based on that experience. Or haven't you learned that from your previous songs?"

This actually caused her to laugh. He was right. Of course, he was right.

"What would I do without you?"

"Become crazy and go mad," he laughed with her.

"I think it's too late for that."

He pulled her back into a hug and then kissed her deeply as they pulled away from each other, he said words that made her heart swell. "I love you, Serena."

She didn't even have to think about it as she replied, "I love you, too, Darien." Yet again he pulled her in close and they kissed more deeply than before. When they broke apart, breathless, he leaned his forehead onto hers.

"As much as I'd like to kiss you all day," he whispered his voice husky. "We do have to go back and join the others. Besides, I owe you dinner, birthday girl." She smiled and broke away. They turned to leave the room together, but he reached down and grabbed her hand and clasped it tightly within his own before they went to join the others.

* * *

Once they arrived back at the hotel, the group spilt up to go their separate ways, but before they did they wished Serena a happy birthday once more. She smiled as she hugged everyone and thanked them for spending the day with her and making it awesome. As soon as everyone had left, Darien told her that he had something that he had to take care of before dinner and that he would meet her back in her room in an hour or so. She nodded and got off the elevator on her floor, not really knowing how she made it back to her room because she was in such a happy haze. The blissed out feeling that she had woken up with that morning had stayed with her the whole day and had somehow intensified.

She opened the door to her room and felt herself crashing back down to earth as she found Sapphire sitting in a chair waiting for her. He smiled at her and a sick feeling began in her stomach. She didn't like that smile, it felt too familiar from when he had chewed her out for the hotel damages. She closed the door tentatively, wondering if maybe she should leave – but hang on. How the hell had he gotten into her room? She was the only one who had a key.

She opened her mouth to say so, but he beat her to it.

"I've been waiting for you, Serena," he said. "Come, have a seat. I'm sure you have questions that I'll be all to willing to answer." She did as he told her, and sat down across from him on the couch.

"How did you get in here?" She asked.

"As your manager, the hotel also gave me a key. They want to make sure nothing happens to you. As do I," he said in a sickly sweet voice that made the sick feeling in her stomach intensify. "Now, that that's out of the way I think you and I have a lot to talk about. Starting with the chemistry between us."

_WHAT?_

"Oh, yes, don't bother trying to deny it. I know you can feel it too," he got off the chair and sat down next to her on the couch. He placed a hand on her leg that began to crawl up to other places. She moved so fast that his hand was hanging in midair for a moment before he realized what was going on.

"What do you think you're doing, Sapphire?" Serena said exasperated and disgusted.

"I'm acting on the feelings we've been ignoring for so long," he said following her.

"There are no feelings! I'm with Darien!" She exclaimed and tried to back away from him. She didn't like this feeling. She didn't like being cornered. It reminded her too much of that night when she was raped. He continued coming towards her until her back was against a wall and he caged her in.

"Yes, you're with Darien," he said. "And that is the problem. You see, I don't believe that you are a good influence on him. Ever since you've been on this tour he's changed into someone whom I don't recognize and whom his fans don't recognize. They don't like the change and it's reflecting in his record sales and that makes me not like the change. And the only reason I can think of why this is happening is because of you. So I believe the only reasonable thing to do, is for you to leave the tour."

Her brain was trying to function what he was saying and she couldn't comprehend it. What was he talking about, Darien's fans didn't like that he was changing? That wasn't true was it? And she was supposed to leave the tour? What the hell was going on? This was so insane, she couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay, sure. Now where are the camera crews because I'm seriously being punk'd right now, right?"

Wrong. His face got serious and he looked _pissed_. She tried to cringe into the wall, but there was nowhere left for her to run.

"Don't laugh, Serena, I'm not joking. I want you off this tour and if you're smart, you'll leave without a fuss."

She also sobered and got mad. How dare he? He couldn't tell her what to do and she didn't care if he _was_ her manager, the record label wanted her here. This tour was a big success, so what the hell was he prattling on about?

"You can't make me leave," she said sternly.

"Can't I? Don't fuck with me, you bitch, you won't like the consequences. I am not someone you can toy with, love. And if you don't believe me, ask yourself this, how else did Alan get out and decide to press a wrongful imprisonment suit?"

Her head began connecting the dots. It was odd that Alan got out on good behavior just as she was doing the tour _and_ that he had been given a backstage pass to her show in Royal Oak. And then the night of the show, the look that Alan and Sapphire had exchanged…

"You?" She asked flabbergasted.

"Yes, me. So, again, Serena, I'd leave without a fuss or things with him will get _a lot_ worse, and you know I can make it happen," he straightened his back and walked away but before he left he said one last thing. "Oh, and happy birthday, Serena."

The door closed behind him and Sapphire couldn't help but smile. The look on her face was perfect as she realized that her whole life was crashing in on her in one felled swoop. He couldn't have executed this more perfectly if he had tried. He turned to go back to his room when he saw Darien stopped before him, watching him.

"Darien," he greeted a smile on his face.

"Sapphire," he replied watching him quizzically, the frame with Serena's record and platinum status plaque in his hand.

"Oh, good, I see that you picked it up from the front desk. Can I see it?" Sapphire asked as he came closer to inspect this magnificent gift that Darien was going to give to Serena. "It came out great. Now, why don't you go in and give it to the birthday girl? I'll see you tomorrow." He turned and walked away trying not to laugh in an evil villainy way.

Darien knocked on the door trying not to think too hard about the fact that this was the second time that he had seen Sapphire walking out of Serena's room. He shook it off and smiled when Serena opened the door. A small smile was on her face when she saw it was him and she opened the door wider. He came in and kissed her on the cheek.

"What's that?" She asked as she closed the door behind him.

"Oh, this?" He said. "This is for you, birthday girl." He handed it to her and she looked at it. Then she looked at him before looking back at it.

" _For Your Entertainment_ has reached platinum status?" She whispered.

"Yes, it has, congratulations."

"Oh my…"

He finally got a chance to look her over and noticed that her clothes were disheveled, as was the couch. What had gone on here with Sapphire? Was something going on between the two of them?

Serena on the other hand, was taking in her birthday gift. Platinum status. She had made it. Her album had made it. And yet…she was going to be kicked off the tour. No, she couldn't let that happen. She was good at this, and Sapphire was just a man. Yeah, he may have gotten Alan out of jail and had orchestrated a lot of drama, but how much worse could it get? It wasn't like he could hijack the court system and have the case be seen through.

She was staying on this tour, Sapphire be damned.


	12. Days 52 & 53: Fighting a Losing Fight

In the week that followed, Sapphire watched as Serena did the opposite of what he had demanded her to do. Instead of packing her bags and telling Darien that she was leaving the tour, she seemed to solidify herself even deeper into the tour workings. While in New York, she decided that her concert was too boring with her just strutting around randomly on stage. So she decided that she needed to hire a dance choreographer and back up dancers. The routines for each song were ridiculous - in Sapphire's opinion - but awesome - in everyone else's - that the record executives were already planning on filming the next concert and releasing a combo CD/DVD sometime during the fall.

Sapphire watched all of this with deep lines of resentment. He had told her to leave, and instead she had done the opposite. The record company was in love with her, which made his job harder. How was he supposed to convince them that when she finally did leave, that it was for the best? He had been trying to wrap his head around it, but couldn't come up with a possible option. So he called in his partner in crime.

His sister was furious that everything was taking so long. She had expected to be engaged to Darien by this point already, and was _supremely_ disappointed that that blonde haired slut was still around on _her_ tour. She chastised Sapphire for an hour about how the plan needed to move along faster, until finally she suggested that he cash in on his threat.

"You threatened her with Alan," she said over the phone. "So, actually do it! She has deliberately disobeyed you and is trying her damndest to cement herself further into the tour so that she can't be removed without a proper reason. If the case moves forward, she can't be on the tour. It's that simple."

"And if that doesn't work?"

"Use your imagination!" She snapped and hung up the phone.

Sapphire stared at the phone before making another call. The quick talk with his sister actually gave him an idea. Now all he had to do was put it into place.

* * *

Serena was writing fragmented song lyrics when Darien came bursting through the door. She looked up to ask what was going on, because after almost two months together on the road, he knew better than to interrupt her while she was writing. When she noticed he was carrying his laptop and he had a silly expression on his face. This was curious.

"What-?"

"Guess what I found while I was searching Twitter?" He asked her.

She sighed. Being an avid social media user, he was always showing her funny little things that he found or that the fans had shared with him on his Facebook and Twitter pages. This one though seemed different because he had actually gone to find something. Whatever it was she really couldn't care less, there was this one song lyric that she just couldn't get quite right, and if she let it fester by seeing what Darien had found, she may never get it to sound the way she wanted.

"Can you tell me in less than 60 seconds?" She countered.

"Sure," he said. "I was on Twitter and added the members of your band, and was really surprised to find that you had an account too. Thirty seconds, by the way."

She dropped her pen and looked up at him as he turned his laptop screen. There, in fact, was the page she had created when she was in high school. The one, she also hadn't used since the first year she had been in Los Angeles.

"Oh, wow…" she breathed and skimmed through some of the tweets. The person she had been in these tweets felt so long ago and out of her reach. She was glad about that, but at the same time…she shook her head.

"So, why didn't you tell me that you had an account?" He asked her.

"Honestly? Because I've completely forgotten about it until now," she replied.

"Well, time to reactivate it," he said and placed the computer on her lap.

She rolled her eyes, and logged him out of his Twitter account. After spending about ten minutes trying to remember what e-mail address and password that she had used, she finally got back into the account. She spent another fifteen minutes editing the old page, before finally being satisfied. She tweeted something out real quick to test it.

**serenaangelx– After a year of inactivity, twitter account is back up.**

It was an odd tweet, but it proved to her that everything was working. She quickly went back to the home page and scrolled around, when she noticed that the tab that said connect was lit up in blue. She clicked on it, and instantly smiled.

**darienshields – Just found out my lovely girl serenaangelx has a Twitter account. Give her a follow. xx-D**

She smiled and clicked reply.

**serenaangelx - darienshields lovely girl, eh? lol. You aren't so bad yourself. xx - S**

As soon as she sent the tweet, the blue light appeared again. This time when she clicked there were not only mentions from her fans, welcoming her to Twitter, but new followers as well. She scrolled through them all and her smile kept growing with each one. Each tweet made her smile, having stated some significant impact a song of hers had done for them. She clicked on compose and sent out a few more tweets before going back to Darien.

**serenaangelx – Thanks all for the follow and the beautiful words. If I could I'd respond to them all.**

**serenaangelx – But I need to get back to writing song lyrics. Keep rockin' xo S**

When she came back into the room, Darien was smiling.

"See how easy that was? Soon you'll be as popular as me," he kissed her cheek.

"You mean as addicted as you, right?" She laughed. "If I do, it's all your fault."

"I'll graciously take the blame for this one," he whispered and pulled her into his arms as he kissed her deeply.

* * *

Sapphire sat in his car outside a building that he didn't want to be at. But Beryl was right. He had threatened Serena with this tactic and she had openly defied him. How would she leave if he didn't make good on his threats? _But,_ a part of him thought, did Serena really deserve this? She hadn't done anything wrong. The only thing she did was fall in love with the wrong pop superstar. That really shouldn't be a punishable offense. Besides her and Darien seemed happy and maybe if things had been different, they could have been one of those power couples. But things weren't different and Sapphire had plans to administer.

_She doesn't deserve it though,_ he couldn't help but think as he punched the steering wheel in frustration. Since when had that blonde gotten under his skin? He had always been indifferent when it came to her. She was just an obstacle in his way of getting what he and his sister wanted most. When had that changed? _Damn little vixen_ , he casted another look at the building with regret and turned the key in the ignition. He'd come up with another way to get her to leave. It shouldn't be too hard.

_"And in celebrity news, Serena from the popular new band Beautiful Angels Go to Hell, is on Twitter. The singer's account was found by the pop superstar Darien Shields who alerted his 300,000 followers with the following tweet: 'Just found out my lovely girl serenaangelx has a Twitter account. Give her a follow xx-d.' Within an hour of sending that tweet Serena has 150,000 followers and is sure to catch up to Darien by tomorrow morning."_ The radio blared and Sapphire turned off the ignition. There was no way that another plan would work now. He opened the door and got out of the car. _You brought this on yourself, Serena,_ he thought as he climbed the steps to the building.

* * *

 Day 53

* * *

Darien woke to an empty bed the following morning. He sat up wondering where Serena had gone, when he remembered that today was the court hearing for Alan's case against her. It wasn't until the afternoon, but since they were across the state, she had to get up early so she could meet with her legal team. Depending on how things went, she should be back by nine or ten tonight.

Which was a good thing, because Darien needed the time alone to think. Things had been great between him and Serena…or at least, that's what he kept telling himself. But ever since her birthday, something had been off with her and he couldn't help but think that there was something that she wasn't telling him. He tried to chalk it up to the court date and that she was just nervous about being in a courtroom with Alan. But that didn't explain why she had been throwing herself into the tour workings. It was almost like she was solidifying herself, so that way she couldn't be removed.

But why would she be worrying about that? The fans loved her, the record company loved her, and he loved her. Or at least, he thought the record company loved her. Was this what she was hiding from him? Hm…the only person who would know would be Sapphire. Darien got up to go find him. Maybe he would have the answers he was seeking…

Darien couldn't find Sapphire anywhere. He wasn't in his room. He wasn't in the dining room or the bar and Darien doubted he would be at the venue for tomorrow night's show already. So where was he? He wandered back into the dining room where his band and Serena's were congregated for a late breakfast.

"Hey Darien," Raye greeted upon his approach. He nodded and waved at everyone else. "You look distracted this morning. Missing Serena already?"

"Ooh, that's right! This is the first time you two have been apart for a long period of time since the fight that led you two to being together," Mina exclaimed clapping her hands together. Everyone looked at her like she had lost her mind. Usually the blonde wasn't a morning person and would bite anyone's head off if they tried to engage in conversation.

"Who spiked your Cheerios this morning?" Lita asked.

"I don't eat Cheerios," Mina replied confused.

"It's just an expression," Mark explained.

"Oh," she nodded. "So how are you doing, Darien?"

"I'm doing fine," he replied. "I was actually just looking for Sapphire. Have you guys seen him this morning?"

"No, we haven't," Jason replied. "Maybe he's at the venue?"

"That's what I was thinking, but I doubt he would be there this early…" Darien sighed. Figures. The one time he needed to speak to him, he was nowhere to be found.

"Actually, I saw him leaving last night," Lita said. "I don't know where he was going, but he looked really snazzy."

"Snazzy?"

"He was dressed in a suit."

"Why would he be wearing a suit?" Darien asked.

Lita shrugged, "Just telling you what I saw."

"Hm…thanks Lita…" he said as he continued to think. The problem was, the more he thought the more he didn't like where his brain was headed. He didn't like it at all.

* * *

Serena sat outside the courtroom surrounded by her lawyers. They weren't due inside for another half hour, and she was dreading it. Her stomach was in knots, the collar of her button up shirt felt too tight, her skirt felt like it was too short and her hair felt greasy even though she had washed it the night before. The only thing keeping her sane was the meeting she had with her lawyers before they came to the courthouse.

They had told her that Alan had no case, unless he could prove without a doubt that Serena was lying about that night, which he couldn't because there was physical evidence. So she was feeling slightly better about the case being thrown out. But that had changed when she saw Alan walk in with his lawyers and she began to doubt herself. Which was stupid, but she couldn't help it. She had thought that all of this was behind her, that it was over and she wouldn't have to ever think about it again. But then stupid Sapphire had to get involved and threaten her. Well, she wasn't going to give in. Evidence and fact would win this. She just had to let her lawyers do what they did best.

"Serena?" One of them said, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"They're calling us in now. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," she replied and got up from her seat. Her lawyer held open the door for her and she walked into the courtroom. There were some people already inside, sitting behind the prosecution and the defense. Spectators, she guessed and made her way to the front. She sat down next to her lawyer James Rubeus on one side and Jane Emerald on the other. The judge wasn't in the room yet, but she could feel eyes on her. She looked to where Alan was sitting, but he wasn't looking at her. He was talking to his parents. So who was staring at her? She searched the room and found her answer.

It was Alan's lawyer. The man looked to be in his thirties, but he looked older because of his hair that was such a bright shade of platinum blonde it almost looked white. She turned away from his eyes, because it was really starting to freak her out. He reminded her of someone, she just couldn't think of whom.

The bailiff stood, "Please rise," he said and everyone rose to their feet. The judge who was a woman, walked in. "The honorable judge, Trista Macintyre residing." The judge sat down and everyone sat down too except James and Alan's lawyer.

"Case 20X35 – Alan Johnson vs. Serena London on the count of wrongful prosecution for case 10X23 – Serena London vs. Alan Johnson on the count of first degree sexual assault. Council, what am I reading here?"

"That's exactly how the defense feels, Your Honor," James replied. "The prosecution is obviously digging on false claims in order to get a payout because of my clients new fame status."

"While it is true that this is an insane case, what opposing council doesn't realize is that my client is seeking rightful compensation for being imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit."

"But he _did_ commit the crime," James stressed. "He was tried and found guilty."

"I have to agree with the defense, Mr. Chambers. Unless you can provide ample evidence to support Mr. Johnson's claim, I'm afraid I will have to throw this case out," the judge said.

"I understand, Your Honor," he replied and took something off his desk. "That's why I would like to submit this piece of evidence into the court record." He handed it to the judge and as he walked back he smirked at Serena. Red flags of alarm were screeching in her head as James accepted the 'new evidence.' "As evidence piece A shows – the prosecution does in fact have ample evidence to continue this trial."

"So they do," Trista said almost regretfully to Serena's ears.

"Your honor, the defense requests a recess to look over the new evidence."

"Granted," she said. "We'll reconvene tomorrow morning." Tomorrow morning? Serena thought frantically. She couldn't do tomorrow morning! She had a show tomorrow night that she had to prepare for. She couldn't do that if she was halfway across the state.

"Er, your honor, the defense requests that the court meet the day after tomorrow, since our client has a previous engagement that can't be cancelled."

Trista stared at Serena for a few moments before banging her gavel. "All right, court will resume two days from now at ten in the morning." She stood and everyone stood with her until she left the room. Serena's lawyers hastily packed up and ushered her out of the room. But not before Alan's lawyer – Mr. Chambers – stopped them.

"I just wanted to say good luck at tomorrow's show, Ms. London. I'm sure you'll be great." He smiled, which creeped her out. There was something wrong with this guy, not to mention he still reminded her of someone. She just couldn't place whom. James and Jane escorted her out and away from him before she could figure it out. Once they were in a conference room, Serena turned to them.

"What just happened? What new evidence did they just present that's making this case go forward?' She asked having a melt down. This was supposed to be a simple case. They didn't have any evidence…so why?

"Because they submitted this to the court," James said handing her the piece of paper that Mr. Chambers had handed him. She took it and read through it quickly, then read through it again this time more slowly. She still didn't get it.

"What exactly am I reading?" She asked lifting her eyes from the piece of paper.

"You are reading that the DNA sample that was taken from you the night of the incident was somehow tampered with, and thus, dismissible," Jane said.

"Which means?"

"That they have justifiable cause to continue this lawsuit," James answered. The piece of paper that Serena was holding dropped from her hand and fluttered to the table below as her hands went to cover her mouth. The DNA sample was tampered with? What. The. Fuck? How could it have possibly been tampered with? She had watched the doctor take it from her… she shuddered at the memory. How could this be? Then it came back to her, the threat that Sapphire made and how she had gotten into this position in the first place. That bastard! She turned on her heal and was about to leave the room when James stopped her.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"To make a phone call," she replied, trying not to let the anger overtake her. Sapphire had gone too far. He was now officially declaring war on her and she would _not_ stand for this bullshit.

"No," Jane said sternly. "Until we figure out how we're going to defend against this, you won't be going anywhere and that includes making phone calls." Serena looked up at her lawyers. They were serious because they didn't know what she did about Sapphire and how he was playing the puppeteer. She couldn't tell them either. Well, she _could_ , but she was going to sound like a freaking crazy person, which is probably _exactly_ what he wanted. Damn that man!

"Fine," she said through gritted teeth and walked back to the table to take a seat. "So, what are we going to do to make this bullshit report look like what it is?"

* * *

Darien was going crazy. His thoughts were driving him to the brink of insanity. His theories were starting to get out of hand, and the only two people he could go to who could disprove these theories weren't here. That was actually one of his theories. That Sapphire was with Serena. But the question was why was he with her? Was it because he was there to offer moral support as her manager or… Well, Darien just didn't even want to dwell too much on the other option because it didn't make sense. Serena loved him and Sapphire just found her annoying. There was no chemistry there.

_But_ why was there so much sexual frustration in that room last week when Sapphire left her room? And why else hadn't she been herself since that day and that encounter? Something was up, and Darien really wanted to know what that was. He grabbed his emergency bag and headed downstairs.

To get the answers he sought, he couldn't sit around here.

* * *

Serena's nerves were frazzled by the time she left the room James, Jane and her had been holed up in since the evidence bomb had dropped. They had spent hours trying to figure out how to disprove the results on that piece of paper, but they were still grasping at straws. She, though, knew how to disprove those results, but the problem was she wasn't willing to do it. Instead, she had another plan and that maybe included the mysterious murder of her manager Sapphire…and she was only saying maybe so that if she got caught it wouldn't be premeditated which it totally was…

But that was beside the point. She let herself into the hotel room, knowing that she still had to make a phone call. Due to the lateness of the hour, she wasn't comfortable taking a car back to the other side of the state. It wasn't fair to her driver, so she decided to stay the night and just leave early the next morning. But she still had to call Darien to inform him that she wouldn't be back and she also had to update him on what was going on with the case. He was probably going to be just as pissed as she was.

She sighed as she kicked off her heals at the door before turning on the lights to the room. What she needed was a hot bath and a hard drink to calm her nerves and forget about this horrible day. It was as she was unbuttoning her blouse that she paid attention to her senses that were going into overdrive. Something was not right in the room. She looked around frantically trying to figure out what was amiss, when her eyes found the problem.

She was not alone and the person who was there with her was the man she was just contemplating murdering.

"Well, I see you were about to start a party," he said with a smirk on his face as he appraised the skin that was showing. She hastily covered herself up. "Mind if I join you?"

"Sapphire! What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Tsk, tsk, Serena, language," he replied as he stood.

"Oh, shove off about my language and answer the question. How did you get in here?"

"I bribed the desk attendant downstairs to let me into your room so I could surprise my girlfriend."

She rolled her eyes. People were so easily bought off these days. For all that desk attendant knew the man they had let into her room could have been a crazy stalker who was trying to kill her.

"You look tired, Serena. Long day?"

Her eyes narrowed at him. "You know it was. How did you do it, Sapphire? Bribe a judge? A lawyer?"

"You think I'm so diabolical?" He chuckled.

"Please, we are talking about you."

"This is true, but I won't reveal my secrets. I just hope you are now taking my threat more seriously and are reconsidering your stay."

That was all she needed to hear before she stormed forward, her anger finally boiling over. "You are so fucking deranged! What is it about me that has you so determined to get me off of this tour? It can't be Darien's record sales, because based on every article I've read in the last week, he's doing just fine. So, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Sapphire's smile disappeared and he grabbed her roughly as he threw her against the wall. "You were entertaining up until now, Serena. You forget who holds all the power here. I warned you last week that if you didn't leave, things were going to get really bad for you when it came to the lawsuit. But you didn't listen. So, what is happening now is all your fault. As to your question, there is nothing wrong with me except for the fact that I want you…" his eyes drifted to her exposed flesh and to her lips before crashing his lips against hers.

She was stunned at first, before she realized what was going on and started to fight against his lips. She tried to push him away, but he was too strong and wasn't letting go. She couldn't move her legs because he had pinned them with his own. She pounded on his chest, but he wouldn't move and he wouldn't let her lips go.

"What the hell?" A new voice caused the two of them to break apart. They both looked to see who the newcomer was and were shocked to see Darien standing there. He was furious and Serena couldn't figure out why until she took in what he was seeing. Sapphire and her kissing with her blouse mostly undone. Oh god…

"Darien, this isn't what it looks like!" She exclaimed clutching the two sides of her blouse together.

"Really? Because from where I'm standing it looks like my worst fear has been realized," he replied glaring at her. "I can't believe this. Have you been playing me this whole time? You know what? Don't answer that. I came up here to make sure you were okay after the court hearing and to ask you a question, but I just realized that I've been wasting my time and my feelings on the wrong person. You're nothing but a whore, Serena." He turned around and walked out of the room. Serena was too shocked to go after him.

"Well," Sapphire laughed. "That went better than I thought it would."

"What are you talking about?" She asked her brain still trying to process what had happened.

"Oh, honey, I've been planning your demise for quite a while now," he said putting his finger under her chin. "Of course, I thought you would have gone after my last threat, but you surprised me. So I began to wonder what would make you leave and it came to me. You don't want things to be awkward between the two of you that's why you refrained from dating him at the beginning. And what better way to make things awkward then to make him think you're nothing but a cheating whore?" He laughed again.

"You…" she trailed off not sure what to say.

"As you said before, I'm quite diabolical," he smiled. "Now, I better go after him to make sure he's okay. Ta-ta, Serena." He walked out the door. Serena stared at the door her mouth open and tears pooling in her eyes. This whole thing had been a set up. She was such a fool. She was…

_"Nothing but a whore, Serena."_ Darien's voice echoed in her head. She collapsed onto the floor and let the tears flow.

* * *

Sapphire ran down the hall to catch up to the pop star and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, slow down," he said.

"I'm not in the mood, Sapphire," Darien replied.

"Look, Darien, I'm sorry about what happened back there. She's…well…"

A silence fell over them as the elevator doors opened. They stepped inside and the silence continued. Until he sighed, "Just answer me this, Sapphire. How long has this been going on?"

"It hasn't been going on," he replied right away. "She's been flirting and she's tried a few times, but today was the first time there had been any physical contact. I told her that we couldn't do that to you, but she just wouldn't listen."

"I see," Darien said and lapsed back into silence. Sapphire couldn't help but smirk.

Mission accomplished.


	13. Day 54: Tour Bus Awkwardness, Take Three & Grand Rapids, MI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. Obviously I don't own Sailor Moon. Sad. Also don't own the songs "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" by Cher and "Gunning Down Romance" by Savage Garden either. Which is unfortunate since I really love both of these songs. Oh, well, hope you guys like this chapter! Now read on!

Serena didn't sleep that night. How could she? The world around her was crumbling. Darien hated her and thought that she was a whore. The whole lawsuit with Alan was going to proceed even though the 'corrupted' evidence was a total sham because of…

Her eyes narrowed at the thought because of that douche bag Sapphire. That man had been more cunning and deceptive than she had originally bargained for. It was because of him that she was in this mess to begin with. Why did he hate her so much and why was he so determined to ruin everything? She didn't understand, and she doubted that it had anything to do with him 'wanting her.' That was all just part of his plan to make Darien think the worst of her. And sadly enough his plan had worked.

Well, at least for the moment, because Serena would be damned if she would let that sick man get his way. She would fix it. She had no other choice. And to fix it, she was going to find Darien as soon as she got back and tell him the truth about what Sapphire was really about. She should have done that from the beginning, she understood that now, but hopefully it wasn't too late to fix it.

Hopefully, Darien would let her plead her case. Hopefully, everything would work out for the best. Hopefully, all of this would stay out of the press. And hopefully, she wouldn't punch out Sapphire…

But then again, if she did it would make her feel a whole hell of a lot better. Besides, it wouldn't be like he didn't deserve it…but first things first. She needed to get back to the hotel that everyone was staying at so that way she could try and put her plan into action.

"Is there anyway that you can go a little bit faster, please?" She asked the driver.

"Sorry, miss, but there seems to be an accident. We might be here a while."

_Oh, great_ …

* * *

After three hours, the car finally pulled up to the entrance of the hotel, which was surrounded by hounds of paparazzi that started to flash their cameras as soon as the car stopped at the curb. Serena groaned. This is not what she needed right now. She was already cranky because she didn't get enough sleep, then the traffic, and now this? She couldn't take much more and she knew that if they pressed the wrong question she was going to clock someone in the face. She bit her lip, trying to calm down. It wouldn't do to snap here. She still had a lot to do, so with a deep breath she opened the car door and climbed as gracefully as she could out.

The paparazzi descended like vultures on a dead carcass.

"Serena, is it true that your case is going to trial because of contaminated evidence?" She tried not to roll her eyes at the question. Obviously, it was true or else they wouldn't be asking her the question. They were just trying to get a rise out of her. She continued to make her way towards the door, ignoring them until…

"Serena, why did Darien show up a few hours ago looking like he was really angry? Did something happen between you two?" She tried not to let her reaction to this piece of news show on her face. But it was hard. Her head was in a whirlwind as the paparazzo's question echoed in her ears. Darien had just come back from seeing her across the state and he looked angry. Of course, _they_ didn't know that he had come from seeing her. They were assuming that he had heard abut what had happened at the trial yesterday. And she was going to let them continue to think that. There was no need to tell them what had _really_ happened since she had every intention of making it right.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't realized that the hotel security had pushed her through the crowd and into the hotel lobby until she saw Lita, Nick and Paul standing by the concierge desk. They were looking at her with concern, but she didn't have time to reassure them she was fine. It would have been a lie anyway. Instead she asked,

"Have you guys seen Darien?"

"He went up to his room," Lita answered. "But, Serena, are you okay? You look…" she trailed off not sure how to describe her friends appearance.

Paul and Nick did though. "You look like you did at the party, Serena…" they had worried looks on their faces that she was trying to ignore. She didn't have time to explain to them what had happened and why she looked the way that she did. She had to find Darien and make everything right. Then maybe she could tell them. Maybe.

"Later," she said and started walking towards the elevators. Her friends and band mates stared after her, concerned looks on their faces. Something was wrong and they didn't know what it could possibly be.

* * *

Darien wasn't in his room as Serena's band had told her. When he came back from his trip, he had gone to his room, but he couldn't stay there. Everything in that room reminded him of her. The couch where they had cuddled together while watching a movie the night before she left for the other side of town. The bed…well, that one was self-explanatory. He just couldn't stay in that room filled with memories and her smell until they left for the venue in six hours.

Besides he knew that if he stayed Serena would come to him and try to explain what he had seen upon her return. He didn't want to hear it. He knew what he had seen. There was nothing she could say that would make what she had done okay. Cheating was not okay. The ache in his chest was not okay.

Everything was not okay and he needed a drink to numb the ache he was feeling. So he snuck into the bar and had been nursing his scotch for the last hour. He was trying not to think. It hurt too much to think. But some thoughts were sneaky and got through. _How could she do this?_ Was the first thought that pestered him. The same thought had been pestering him since the elevator ride the previous evening. It didn't make sense to him. He thought that she had loved him. He thought that they would… He shook his head and knocked back the rest of his drink. The truth was he had thought a lot since Serena had finally taken the plunge and started dating him. He wasn't going to lie. He had honestly thought that Serena was the one. That's probably why this hurt so much.

But obviously he was wrong. The bartender brought him another drink as the screaming outside the hotel increased. He didn't have to look to know that Serena was back. Why else would there be such a commotion? He sighed and took a sip of his drink. Why were the paparazzi swarming though? Yeah they were in town, but there were more paparazzi than usual. It didn't make sense to him unless…oh, wait. The light bulb finally clicked. The whole reason he had gone to visit her last night was to check on her after the court session. He never got the chance to find out what had happened, but apparently something had happened. Even though he didn't want to, he wondered what had transpired.

The volume changed again and despite his best efforts, he looked up and at the window that glimpsed the hotel lobby. He could clearly see her standing by her friends and what he saw shocked him. He had seen her on the brink of many things. The brink of craziness. The brink of pleasure. But he had never seen her on the brink of a breakdown.

Until now.

Even when she was going through her 'rebel' phase a few weeks ago, he had never seen her this disheveled. Her hair looked like it hadn't been brushed in weeks. Her hands were shaking as she took off her sunglasses, which showed that her eyes were red and her mascara was smudged and looked like it had been running. The look on her face showed that she was distraught and distracted. She made quick conversation with her friends before going towards the elevators. Her friends looked after her and Darien saw that they were worried.

And even though he knew he shouldn't, he began to wonder if maybe he had jumped to conclusions about what he had seen. Because if she were really cheating on him, would she really look like that? He took another sip of his drink and even though he didn't want to, he really thought about what he had seen last night.

* * *

Serena stared at the floors of the elevator as they went past each one slowly. She needed to talk to Darien and this elevator was so freaking slow! She leaned on one of the walls and closed her eyes for a second. She was so tired. Once this was all over, she was going to sleep for the whole day without any interruptions. The elevator came to a stop and dinged before the doors opened. She walked out and went down the hall to Darien's room.

She raised her hand to knock when the door opened to reveal a smirking Sapphire. She lowered her hand and clenched it into a fist. She should have known that he was going to be here. He was probably going to try and stop her. But she wasn't going to allow that to happen.

"Ah, Serena," he said as he stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind him. "Just the person I was hoping to run into."

"Sapphire," she said through gritted teeth. "If I were you I'd walk away now."

"And why would I want to do that?" He asked with a trace of amusement in his voice. She only proceeded to narrow her eyes at him. He had no idea the mood that she was in right now. If he didn't back away _and_ leave her sight, there was a good possibility that she was going to commit a first-degree felony.

"Because if you don't, I might do something…"

"Like throw yourself at me?" He countered. "Please, be my guest. You'll only add feeder to the raging fire that I've lit the match to."

"You are insufferable," Serena hissed at him. "I don't understand what I ever did to you. Why are you so intent on getting rid of me and ruining my life? And don't even start with the bull shit that you 'want me' because we both know that's not true."

"Oh, but it is, Serena, it really is," he murmured as he pressed her into the wall. She shoved him backwards, not falling for that trick again. "Touchy, but as to your other question, well, I guess I can tell you the truth since you are as good as gone anyway. The real reason that I've been pushing you to leave is because you weren't supposed to be on this tour in the first place. Darien wasn't supposed to pick you at the auditions for the opening act. He was supposed to pick my sister."

"Your sister?" She asked confused.

"Yes, my sister, who can also sing, not as well as you, but pretty damn close. Anyway, that was the person he was supposed to pick for his opening act, only I had thrown her into the second round of auditions thinking that there was no possible way that he would find someone in the first round. But I should have known better, because shit happens. And he found you."

"So what? So, he picked me over your sister, what the hell is the big deal about that? Besides you just told me that I'm a better singer than her anyway."

"Yes, you are, but there was a plan that you ruined by being picked. Of course, I was fine with you being here. You're the one that Darien wanted, and you were a good singer. But then, Darien admitted to having feelings for you and you admitted to having feelings for him. That placed the target on you. So I did some digging…"

"And you found out about Alan," she whispered her eyes enlarging.

"Bingo. I found out about him, and started another plan this time to get you off the tour. What better way to do that then to bring the guy who raped you back into your life? But you were strong, I'll give you that. The whole bringing in fake evidence was my last resort, something you only brought upon yourself…"

Serena lost her control on her anger then. She slapped him. Hard. But he only smiled.

"You are a monster," she said her voice hoarse with unshed tears. "But you haven't won, yet."

"Oh, haven't I?" He asked. "Darien thinks you are nothing but a whore. The court case is continuing, due to false evidence, which means you'll have to leave the tour. How exactly, have I not won?"

"Because, I'm going to tell Darien everything, like I should have from the beginning." She turned to walk away from him, having a feeling that if Darien wasn't in his room he was most likely in the bar. But she didn't get far before Sapphire took her and slammed her against the wall. He trapped her between his arms and lowered his head so he could look her in the eyes.

"You will do no such thing," his voice had lost the flippancy and snarkiness that he had been using. It was hard as stone.

"And why not?"

"Because, you silly little bitch, if you tell him he won't believe you. Why would he believe such a lying whore over me his best friend and manager? Not to mention that if you even try to tell him, I'll ruin your career so fast, you'll be lucky to sing one of those silly little commercial jingles."

A pit of dread opened in her stomach. The same choice she had been forced to make earlier in the tour. Did she choose her personal life over her career? She had chosen wrong last time. And although she had been working hard to have this career, she wasn't going to choose wrong this time.

"Go ahead and try, Sapphire," she whispered. "But I love Darien, and I'm not going to let you get in the way of that."

"Well, well, well," he said, slightly amused. "Look who learned from her past mistakes. Too bad, you didn't learn from them all…" She opened her mouth to ask why, when he lowered his lips to hers and kissed her.

_Not this again_ , she thought desperately as she beat her hands on his chest trying to get him to stop. This couldn't be happening again. How did she even let this happen? She had been about to walk away when he slammed her against the wall, and she had stupidly let him corner her into this wall. God, she felt like such a fool. Wait, there was one difference from last time. He hadn't pinned her legs. So she could get out of this. She inched her knee upward when the elevator dinged letting them know that someone had just gotten off on that floor.

"What the fuck?" A very familiar voice exclaimed. They broke apart, but not before Sapphire smirked in her direction. He moved away from her so that she could clearly see the beyond angry raven-haired man stalking towards them. She opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off.

"Save your breath, Serena," he growled at her. "There is nothing you can say that can explain this away. I thought that you loved me, but I obviously was wrong. I thought you were the one too, but hey. I wasn't the only one blinded by your persona. Just ask your boyfriend, Alan. He'll know all about your slutty ways." He turned to enter his room, but he turned back.

"And pack your bags, Serena, because tonight is your last night on this tour." He turned back and entered his room, letting the door close behind him with a loud slam. Serena didn't say anything as she sunk to the floor. Sapphire watched all of this with a smirk of victory on his face. She still didn't say anything as she tried to process what had just happened. She had thought that if she had been able to talk to him about what had really happened, things would be okay between them. But…fucking Sapphire and his stupid plan to ruin her…wait, why was he plotting to ruin her anyway? He never really did finish his explanation…

"Well, Serena, it looks like your career is safe," Sapphire broke the silence. "Tonight is your last performance and as long as you don't say a word to him about what is going on…there will be great rock songs in your future and not commercial jingles." He turned to walk away.

"You never finished your story," she whispered and brought his attention back to her. "Why did you want your sister on this tour instead of me?"

"Huh, I guess I didn't. Well, I wanted my sister on this tour instead of you, because I wanted her to be the one to catch and tame Darien."

"Why?" She asked, generally confused.

"Because with Darien and my sister married, I would control their lives as their manager they would become the ultimate 'it' couple. Even bigger than Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt…" A twinkle of power flickered in his eyes, a twinkle that looked awfully familiar to Serena. Some more dots connected together.

"Diamond Chambers," she replied.

"Ah, yes, Alan's lawyer," he said.

"How do you know him?"

"Caught on to that, haven't you? Yes, Diamond Chambers is my cousin who just so happens to be a lawyer. He was all too happy to take Alan's case, and all too pleased when I gave him the idea that the evidence was tampered with. He was also totally captivated by you, so when all of this is over, maybe you should give him a call?" He laughed and walked away from her leaving Serena to wonder what she was going to do now.

* * *

The members of Serena and Darien's bands noticed that something was wrong the minute they got on the bus. Their two friends were already on board, but they were sitting on separate sides and not together like they had been since they had ended up together. This made things very awkward for the rest of them. They had mingled over the last few weeks, but now that something was up between those two they knew they had to sit on their appropriate sides. It didn't help either that they noticed something else.

Serena and Darien weren't speaking to each other and were furiously scribbling into their notebooks. This could mean only one thing. Something had happened between the two of them, and whatever it was, it couldn't be good. With reluctant looks they parted ways and joined their friends.

When Lita, Paul and Nick sat down, Serena didn't look up from her notebook. She just kept scribbling. They all exchanged looks not sure what to say. She had seemed strange earlier, but now she looked like she was about to have a complete and utter breakdown. Something was wrong and they wanted to know what. It was officially later and they wanted to collect.

"Serena," Nick started his voice gentle and low.

She looked up for a second before she went back to her writing. "Don't," was her only response.

"Don't what?" Paul asked.

"Don't ask me questions," she replied

They exchanged looks. What was this about? They opened their mouths to ask, when she retorted.

"I'm serious, don't ask me questions. Just…" she sighed. "Can you guys trust me?"

"Of course, we can," Lita answered for them.

"Then trust me enough to know that I'm handling things within the best of my ability and that whatever happens tonight…" she trailed off. "Whatever happens tonight has been out of my hands since day one, and it's only now that I'm crumbling because I need a break to figure out what to do next."

This stumped them all. What did she mean that this was out of her hands and had been in the making since day one? They wanted to ask, but as they looked at her they saw that they couldn't. She was really serious about the whole no asking questions thing and went back to her frantic scribbling. All three of them exchanged looks and knew that whatever was to come tonight wouldn't be good. It wouldn't be good at all.

* * *

On the other side of the bus, Mark, Mina, Raye and Jason sat down next to their friend and unlike with Serena's friends started barraging him with questions.

"What did you do?" Mina accused.

"How could you?" Raye added.

"Do you not understand that she is the best thing to happen to you?" Mark exploded.

"Man, I knew it was too good to be true that the player finally was going to settle down, but what is wrong with you? There isn't going to be another girl like Serena in your life, like ever." Jason added to the mix.

Darien said nothing as he finished another song lyric. It was after he wrote the final verse that he looked up at his friends with a cold look. This shut them up real fast. They had never seen him look this angry and hurt before. Ever.

"What happened between Serena and me was not my fault," he said evenly his eyes on all four of them. "She was the one who chose to ruin it and she may have been the best thing to happen to me, but she is nothing more than a liar and two bit whore. If there is anything else you would like to discuss about my love life, please refrain from doing so." He turned back to his notebook, and didn't notice the looks they were exchanging between themselves. He had just delivered a shock to all of their systems. What had Serena done that would make him act this way towards her? It didn't make any sense…

* * *

Serena had just sung the last lyric of her set for the night. It was also her last song of the tour, but nobody knew that except for Darien, Sapphire and her. That's why her heart hadn't really been in the show tonight. How could she sing her happy up beat songs, when she knew that all of this was ending? She knew it wasn't fair to her fans who seemed to notice only slightly that something was wrong, but she just couldn't bring herself to slap a fake smile on her face and pretend that everything was okay when it wasn't. She waved to the fans and made her way off the stage ignoring the questioning glances she was receiving from her friends.

She couldn't tell them yet what was going on. They would know soon enough, but they didn't need to join her in her misery. Darien passed her on his way onto the stage and he only glared at her, which made her heart break even more. If only he knew the truth about what had happened…but he didn't want to hear it. Not from a lying cheating whore… She sighed and took a swig from her water bottle that the stagehand had given her.

"Hello, Grand Rapids!" Darien's voice boomed around the theater. The crowd responded eagerly. "It's such a pleasure to be back here! But before we go any further, I have some sad news. Tonight, was Serena's last performance on this tour." The crowd gasped and booed. "Yes, I know, it's sad, but due to some personal issues that have been taking up her attention, she decided to leave to handle these issues so that way they won't interfere with her music."

Serena raised an eyebrow in surprise. He was sugar coating this and letting her take the fall more gracefully than she had expected him to. Then again, she hadn't expected him to say anything at all. What was he up to?

"I know you are disappointed, so I think that it's only fair that Serena come out and sing one last song, to finish off her first tour right." The crowd applauded wildly in agreement and he came back off stage. He passed her again, but this time she actually opened her mouth to say something.

"Why did you do that?" She asked.

"Because your fans deserve to know why you won't be here," he said gruffly. "Not that I got that same courtesy."

"Darien…don't do this," she practically begged. "There is so much more going on here than you know."

"Oh, really? So you mean there was a reason why you were cheating on me with Sapphire? It wasn't just because you're a whore?" She opened her mouth to reply, to tell him the truth about his so called manager, when she spotted Sapphire a few feet behind him.

"If I gave you one, would you believe me?" She asked.

"Probably not," he replied.

"Then why should I even bother?" She shook her head and tried not to have her tears fall. The audience was chanting her name and she knew that she had to get back out there before a riot was started.

"One last thing, Serena," he stopped her. "The whole reason I came back up to my room this afternoon, was because I thought that there was no way that you would cheat on me. That what I had seen at the hotel last night was just Sapphire trying to drive you away. Because when I saw you come back today, you looked so broken, I thought that this was just a horrible misunderstanding. Guess I was wrong…" The stagehand was pushing her microphone back into her hand and her back onto the stage, so she didn't have time to reply. She also didn't have time to hide her tears.

Serena walked onto the stage with tears streaming down her face and the audience instantly quieted down as she approached the piano. She snapped the microphone into place and looked at the keys. Tears dripped onto them from her face.

"I didn't tell you guys that this was my last show because I didn't want you guys to be sad," she started. "It was also because if I did tell you, then I would have to come up with a song to make this night memorable and to close this chapter of my life. I didn't know what to do, but I think you guys knew that something was off about tonight. And for that I apologize.

"Things are probably going to come out in the next few days about what these personal issues are that have driven me away, just be wary of what you believe. As for that last song…well, this isn't my best, but I'm afraid it will have to do. I wrote this song this afternoon on the way here, and I hope you guys like it." She played a few keys on the piano before she started to sing.

_Feeling_   
_Broken_   
_Barely holding on_   
_But there's just something so strong_   
_Somewhere inside me_   
_And I am down, but I'll get up again_   
_Don't count me out just yet_   
_I've been brought down to my knees_   
_And I've been pushed way past the point of breaking_   
_But I can take it_   
_I'll be back_   
_Back on my feet_   
_This is far from over_   
_You haven't seen the last of me_   
_They can't_   
_Say that_   
_I won't stay around_   
_But I'm going to stand my ground_   
_You're not going to stop me_   
_You don't know me_   
_You don't know who I am_   
_Don't count me out so fast_   
_I've been brought down to my knees_   
_And I've been pushed_   
_Way past the point of breaking_   
_But I can take it_   
_I'll be back_   
_Back on my feet_   
_This is far from over_   
_You haven't seen the last of me_

Paul, Nick and Lita came out to help add some more instruments to the song as it reached its crescendo. Darien was watching this, trying not to feel impressed or moved by her songs, but as always he couldn't help himself. She was an amazing songwriter, and even though it killed him to say so, the song that she was singing about all these events was way better than the one he had planned for tonight.

How lame. He couldn't even have the better break up march.

_There will be no filler_   
_This is not the end_   
_I'm down now, but I'll be standing tall again_   
_Times are hard, but_   
_I was built tough_   
_I'm gonna show you all what I'm made of_   
_I've been brought down to my knees_   
_And I've been pushed_   
_Way past the point of breaking_   
_But I can take it_   
_I'll be back_   
_Back on my feet_   
_This is far from over_   
_I am far from over_   
_You haven't seen the last of me_

Serena got up from the piano bench and grabbed the mic as she walked towards the side curtain.

_Oh, no_   
_You haven't seen the last of me_   
_You haven't seen the last of me_   
_Haven't seen the last of me_

She was backstage and handed her microphone over to the stagehand before she brushed past Darien and walked towards her dressing room. He watched her go, a little confused as to what had just passed. But he shook it off.

It was his turn to go back out on stage.

The crowd didn't applaud when he made his reappearance, and he frowned. Apparently they thought that whatever had just transpired was his fault. Boy, were they ever in for a rude awakening. Dark music began to play and they paid more attention. He had never been this dark before. Now, they knew something was up with him too. He started to sing.

_Love and other moments are just chemical reactions_   
_In your brain, in your brain_   
_And feelings of aggression are the_   
_Absence of the love drug_   
_In your veins, in your veins_   
_Love come quickly_   
_'Cause I feel my self-esteem is caving in_   
_It's on the brink_   
_Love come quickly_   
_'Cause I don't think I can keep this monster in_   
_It's in my skin_   
_Love and other socially acceptable emotions are morphine_   
_They are morphine_   
_Clearly concealing primal urges often felt_   
_But rarely seen, rarely seen_   
_Love I beg you_   
_Lift me up into that privileged point of view_   
_The world of two_   
_Love don't leave me_   
_'Cause I console myself that Hallmark cards are true_   
_I really do_

The crowd was enraptured just like they were with Serena's song. What was going to come next? They hadn't expected this from Darien…he usually sung such beautifully sweet melodies about finding love, not losing it.

_I'm gunning down romance_   
_It never did a thing for me_   
_But heartache and misery_   
_Ain't nothing but a tragedy_   
_I'm gunning down romance_   
_It never did a thing for me_   
_But heartache and misery_   
_Ain't nothing but a tragedy_   
_Love don't leave me_   
_Take these broken wings_   
_I'm gonna to take these broken wings_   
_And learn to fly_   
_And learn to fly away_

The crowd was now incredibly curious. Something had happened between Darien and Serena, they were sure. But what and how long would this go on? The perfect couple couldn't be over so quickly could they?

* * *

Sapphire was standing back stage and smiled in triumph. This break-up plan had been the best idea he had ever come up with. The crowd loved it. Darien was finally writing interesting songs again. And Serena…well, he knew that song she had done was her vengeful reply to him and his actions. But she was nothing to be concerned about. There was no way that she could get back into Darien's life without ruining her career in the process. He may even reward her for that…just a little something to show that there were no hard feelings. He walked back to Darien's dressing room to make a call to his sister to let her know that she should pack her bags.

* * *

Paul, Nick and Lita rushed back to their friend after her performance and just stared at her. They didn't know what else to do since she had told them not to ask any questions and told them to trust her. She looked up at their entrance and just waved them off.

"I told you to trust me," she whispered. "Darien spoke the truth. We are off the tour, and it is because of personal issues that I can't even begin to get into right now. I need some time away to figure things out and the only place that I think of to go, you guys aren't going to like. You can come with me, if you want. But I think it would be best if you guys went back to LA for the time being. I don't know when I'll be coming back though."

Paul and Nick opened their mouths to say something, but Lita cut them off. She could see what the others couldn't. This was way more than what was going on with Darien, but Serena wasn't ready to talk. So they would give her the time. "If that's what you want, then we'll be in LA when you're ready…" she then ushered for her and the others to leave.

As soon as the door closed, Serena pulled out her cell phone and made a call that she never thought that she would ever make.

"Hello?"

"Mom?"


	14. Days 55-73: Letters Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t own Sailor Moon. I don’t own the songs “Nothing” by Darren Hayes, “Picking Up the Pieces” by Paloma Faith, “Not Afraid” by Eminem, and “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem featuring Rihanna. They are amazing songs, but alas…

After another sleepless night, Serena left in the cover of the predawn light. She had to get to the other side of the state, even though she had almost forgotten her court date due to everything that had happened over the last twenty-four hours. Things that she was still trying to figure a way out of. But due to lack of sleep, her brain wasn't at a hundred percent. That's why she had called her mother.

That and she needed a place to go, a place where she could stay away from the media spotlight. She knew Sapphire was going to use the drama from last night. She just didn't know how, although she could hazard a guess. She also didn't know when he was going to use it. That's why she had left the letters, or at least, that was what she told herself. In reality, she had left a letter for her friends because she owed them that much. Then she left a letter for Darien's band because she needed all eyes open. As for the letter she left for Darien…well, there was motive for that. A lot of motive.

Sapphire had seriously underestimated his opponent, and she had made sure that he was going to realize that.

* * *

Lita tapped the edge of a white envelope on the coffee table in the band's suite. She had found the envelope on that table when she had gotten up to get some coffee. She recognized the handwriting, and knew instantly that it was Serena's. Which could only mean one thing…

Their friend was gone.

Nick opened the door to one of the rooms in the suite and walked out into the main room. He was on his way to the kitchen when he saw sitting on the couch with the envelope in her hands. His eyebrow rose in wonder, and he switched his destination.

"Hey, hon," he said sitting down next to her. "What's that?"

"It's an envelope from Serena to all of us," she replied. "You know what this means?"

"It means she's already left." Nick stared at the envelope in her hands and sat with his elbows on his knees and his hands brought together. Something was going on that Serena hadn't told them about, which was odd. She usually told them everything. Had she done it to protect them? Well, it hadn't really worked, because they were off the tour and back at square one. Although, they had a record deal and fans, the media was going to question this leave of absence and the reason behind it. And the media wasn't the only ones questioning it. Her band mates were questioning it too. And yes, he was using the term band mates instead of friends, because if they had really been friends she would have told them what was going on.

"Hey, guys," Paul said coming out of his room. He looked more put together than he usually did in the mornings. But the usual glimmer of laughter in his eyes was missing. Just because he looked put together didn't mean he was put together. He still remembered the events of last night and there impact on their lives. The mopey expressions on his friends' faces only seemed to reiterate that fact. His eyes zeroed in on the envelope in Lita's hands. "From Serena?"

"Yes," she answered. "Okay, now that everyone is up, I guess it's time to see what her final words were to us before she left." She flipped the envelope over and ran her finger under the flap. She took out the piece of paper and started to read out loud.

_Dear Lita, Nick and Paul,_

_If you're reading this, it means that I've already left for the second court date for the trial. And considering everything that's happened, you're probably really confused as to why that is. Alan and his lawyer have entered into the court record that the DNA sample that was taken from me that night was tampered with. And as crazy as this sounds, I'm not worried about it anymore. Shocking, I know, but I have a feeling that the evidence won't matter when I get to court today._

_Don't ask how I can be so sure of this, because there_ is _an answer, one that I can't give you right now. I'm still asking you to trust me and when I'm ready, I'll tell you guys everything. But I'm not ready and I need some time._

_Until I'm ready, wait for me in Los Angeles._

_Love you,_

_Serena_

When she finished reading, she folded the paper back up and put it into the envelope. She looked up at the other two guys, who looked back at her with questioning and alarmed expressions on their faces.

"DNA sample was tampered with?" Paul whispered.

"No wonder she was so freaked out yesterday," Nick replied. "But that still doesn't explain why Darien was so pissed off at her."

"You don't think, he thought that because of the tampered with DNA that what Serena told him about Alan raping her was a lie?"

"He wouldn't," Lita replied adamant. "He saw how emotional she got in Royal Oak. Why would she get so emotional over a lie? No, something else happened while she was on the other side of the state…"

"Hey, remember that morning? Darien was asking if we had seen Sapphire, and you did, but he looked all dressed up?" Paul asked.

"Yes, we never did find out why he was looking for Sapphire or where Sapphire went."

"Do you think the reason Sapphire was all dressed up was because he went to the other side of the state, to Serena's court date?"

"But why would he…" Nick said and stopped. "Wait. Remember after the concert in Royal Oak, backstage when Alan confronted Serena? I took a glance at Sapphire and he looked pleased by the reaction, almost as if…"

"He orchestrated the whole thing. But that would mean he's been going after Serena this whole time. Why though?"

"You don't think it was because he has feelings for her?" Paul asked.

"No, that can't be it…unless…he wanted us to think that he had feelings for her…" Nick trailed off in thought.

"Not us," Lita said following up with a brainstorm of her own. "But Darien, think about it. After her birthday, Serena's antics with the back up dancers made him think that she was trying to solidify herself on this tour. Making it impossible for her to leave, which is why he was looking for Sapphire two days ago. Who else would know whether she was going to get kicked off the tour? But because I told him that I saw Sapphire leaving, he went to Serena to find out how the trial went."

"Only, if Sapphire followed Serena to the other side of the state…" Nick trailed off again. "You don't think he did anything, do you?"

"I think he did, which is where the problem lies. Somehow those two got closed in a room together, he did something and Darien might have walked in on that…" Lita said trying to put together the pieces of what could have happened.

"He might have gotten angry and that's why she looked so distraught when she came back yesterday. He said something to her and she needed to fix things to make him listen to her. But something must have happened when she got upstairs…" Paul started pacing. Nick drummed his fingers on the coffee table.

"So the question remains though," he said. "Why did Sapphire go after Serena if he doesn't have feelings for her? What does he have to gain from getting her kicked off the tour?"

"I wish I knew," Lita said. "But you know who might know?"

"Raye, Mina, Mark and Jason?" Paul countered.

"Exactly. Let's go see what they know before we leave for LA."

* * *

Mark, Raye and Jason were also sitting in the main room of their suite that morning with an envelope sitting on the table between them. They were waiting for Mina to wake up before they opened it. But they were exchanging looks of question. They didn't recognize the handwriting, but they had a feeling that they knew who had written whatever was in the envelope. The question was what could she possibly have to say to them? Was it answers to the questions that remained after Darien had called Serena a two bit lying whore? They didn't know, but they were curious to find out.

"I could always dump a bucket of ice water on her," Raye suggested.

"The only thing that will do is make her angry," said blonde said as she floated into the room. "But I'm awake now, although I don't know why all of you are waiting on me? You know, I'm a late sleeper."

"We're waiting on you, because of this," Mark said holding up the envelope. Mina took a look at it and frowned.

"From Serena?"

"We think so," Jason said.

"Well, then, now that I'm up let's open it and see what she has to say," the blonde said and sat on Mark's lap. He opened the envelope and took out the piece of paper inside it.

_Dear Mark, Mina, Raye, and Jason,_

_By now, you've probably already noticed that Darien and I are having a fight…and it's even bigger than you realize. I'm not sure what Darien has told you about what happened but please, trust me when I say that none of it is true. What Darien has been seeing is a master plan being executed by someone he trusts most._

_I wish I could say more, but if I do I'll set off a lot of dominos that I'm trying to figure a way out of. While I'm doing that, please look after him._

_I don't want him to do something he'll regret, just because of what's happened._

_Thank you and I'm sorry,_

_Serena_

Mark finished reading the letter and put it back in the envelope. He looked at everyone in the room. They were staring at each other.

"What do you think she means?" Jason asked. "A master plan being executed by someone he trusts most? Who does Darien trust the most?"

"Is it possible that she means Sapphire?" Mark asked as someone knocked on their door. Jason got up from the couch to answer it and was surprised to find Lita, Paul and Nick on the other side. In their hands was an envelope.

"We need to talk to you," Lita said and came in with the other two guys.

Everyone was silent as Lita, Paul, and Nick finished what they had figured out from the letter. Mark was the first one to break the silence.

"So that means, Sapphire is the person that Darien trusts the most."

"The person that Darien trusts the most?" Lita asked curiously.

"Serena left us a letter of her own," Raye explained. "In it she said that what Darien has been telling us is all a lie, and what he has seen was part of a master plot by the person he trusted the most."

"Based on what you're saying, that person seems to be Sapphire," Jason said.

"That means we're right," Nick said. "Which means that whatever Darien saw that made him hate Serena was orchestrated by Sapphire and wasn't real. The only question is what does Sapphire have against Serena?"

"It's a good question," Mina replied. "But Sapphire has always been controlling of Darien. With Serena, Darien stopped doing what he commanded him to do. And it started with picking Serena and your group on the first day of auditions instead of going through another day of…" Her forehead creased as she trailed off.

"What is it Mina?" Mark asked.

"There was another day of auditions that Darien was supposed to sit through, but he found Serena. But Sapphire was real adamant about Darien sitting through the next day of auditions before he chose her, but he didn't listen. I wonder…do you think there was someone in that second group that he wanted him to see?"

"Maybe," Raye answered. "It would explain a lot…but who could it have been?"

"We'll probably find out soon enough," Jason said. "Now that Serena is off the tour, Darien is going to need a new opening act, and since his last pick went so well and he's really emotional, I have a feeling Sapphire is going to chose whoever it was that he wanted Darien to pick the first time."

"Hopefully, then his plan will become clearer to us," Mark said.

"Keep us informed about what's going on," Lita replied. "That way when Serena comes back from wherever she is we can inform her too. By then, hopefully, she'll have a way to get around whatever stipulations that Sapphire has probably put her on."

"Of course, we will," Mina said. "Serena was the best thing that has ever happened to Darien. They are meant to be together, and we're not going to let some scummy ass hole stand in the way of that."

* * *

_Dear Darien,_

_I know you hate me, right now and you probably won't even read this, but I had to at least try._

_I am so sorry for everything. I wish I could explain, but I'm not sure if you would even believe me and I'm so bound by stipulations…_

_All that matters is that I can't tell you. Even though I'm working desperately to find a way. The only thing I_ can _tell you is that everything isn't always as it seems._

_Again, I'm so sorry._

_Love always,_

_Serena_

Sapphire laughed as he finished reading Serena's foolish attempt to try and tell Darien everything without telling him everything. He crumpled up the letter and threw it in the trash. She was good, but he was better. She should have known that he would have sources everywhere and that this letter wouldn't get to Darien. So why did she ever bother writing it? He shook his head and was about to crumple up the envelope the letter came in when he found another piece of paper in it. He opened the piece of paper and stopped laughing immediately.

_Sapphire,_

_Congratulations! You found the decoy letter that I left for Darien, in a place that I knew that you would look. The real letter is already in his possession – and if I'm lucky – he's already read it. But – more than likely – he's already thrown it in the trash like you already did. Anyway, I was being one hundred percent honest, I will find a way to destroy your plan and expose you. I mean what I sang last night – this is far from over._

_You haven't seen the last of me._

_Serena_

Sapphire shook his head in wonder. Maybe Serena was better at this game than he originally planned for. But it didn't matter because she was gone, she had held up her end of the deal. It was time he held up his. He pulled out his cell phone to make a call.

* * *

Darien woke up with a pounding headache. That's what he got for drinking a lot of whisky the night before. But he had a lot on his mind and it was the only way he could think of that would help him forget his troubles. However, as with everything, the alcohol could only let him forget for so long. Now, with each throb of his head, he remembered everything that had happened over the last forty-eight hours. Which also included the pain that he was trying to cover up. Serena had really hurt him, and he thought that what he had seen in that hotel room was all a lie. That Sapphire was the one who he needed to get rid of.

But then that scene in the hallway had him rethinking everything. How dare she? He had given her the thing that every girl wanted but none could truly have – his heart. And what did she do? She threw it back in his face, acting as if he wasn't enough for her. It still didn't make sense why she would do that, but…did a lying manipulative bitch ever make sense? It also didn't make sense why he had been so nice about her leaving to the fans last night. After what she did, he should have told them the truth. But…he wanted to save face.

Besides it would probably come out in the press over the next few days. In this business, it was bound to. He shook himself out of his stupor and continued grabbing his stuff from around the room. The faster he got out of Michigan the better. There were too many memories of her here that he would rather forget. He opened his suitcase and was about to throw his clothes in when he saw an envelope at the bottom of the case. His name was written on the front in handwriting that he recognized.

It was Serena's. Darien picked up the envelope and twirled it in his hands, deciding what to do. He should throw it out – like she had thrown out his card so many weeks ago. But…he hesitated. Something she had said last night made him consider reading whatever was inside the envelope.

_"If I gave you one, would you believe me?" She asked._

_"Probably not," he replied._

_"Then why should I even bother?" She shook her head._

Maybe she had changed her mind and had decided to give him a reason, some sort of explanation as to why she did what she did. He sighed and with gusto opened the envelope and brought out the letter.

_Dear Darien,_

_I know you hate me, right now and you probably won't even read this, but I had to at least try._

_I am so sorry for everything. I wish I could explain, but I'm not sure if you would even believe me and I'm so bound by stipulations…_

_All that matters is that I can't tell you. Even though I'm working desperately to find a way. The only thing I_ can _tell you is that everything isn't always as it seems._

_Again, I'm so sorry._

_Love always,_

_Serena_

He read it again. And again. Hoping to find some sort of reason between the lines, but all he saw were more questions. What stipulations was she bound by? And what wasn't what it seemed to be?

"Confusing even until the end, Serena," he muttered and crumpled up the letter.

* * *

Serena made it to the courthouse with five minutes remaining until the court session was to start. She ran a hand through her hair quickly before she walked into the courtroom, when the door opened and she almost ran right into Diamond Chambers. She stopped suddenly in her tracks and looked up in surprise.

"What -"

"Ms. London," he smiled at her. "It's such a pleasure to see you again, but I'm afraid I have places to be and cases that are actually going to give me a paycheck. However, if you should ever have need of my services," he fetched into his coat pocket and handed her his card. "Don't be afraid to call." He smiled at her again and was on his way, as she watched him leave. What was that about? She turned to walk into the courtroom when Jane and James came walking out.

"Serena," James and Jane greeted her with a smile. "We have good news. Diamond retracted the evidence that was put into the court record, saying that it was a misunderstanding. The case was dismissed."

"Really?" She asked trying to show shock on her face. She knew that this would happen now that she was off the tour. But still she needed to act surprised.

"Yes, really," Jane smiled. "The case is over, and you get to continue on with your life."

"What's left of it," she sighed and gave her thanks before leaving the courthouse. When she got into the car, the driver asked her where to. She gave him the address to her home before pulling out her phone.

**serenaangelx – Lesson of the day: The truth will always win out. It may take time but eventually the truth always reveals itself.**

She smiled as she hit send and watched as the familiar landscape of her former hometown rushed by. She didn't know how long she was going to stay at her old home, but she knew that she couldn't go back until she figured out how to get out of this mess or at least, pulled herself back together.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the car pulled into her driveway and she got out of the car. The chauffeur grabbed her bags from the trunk and took them up to the porch.

"Would that be all, miss?" He asked.

"Yes, thank you," she replied and watched as the chauffeur went back to the car and drove off before she rang the doorbell. A few minutes later, her father answered the door.

"Hi dad," she said as he opened the door for her.

"It's good to have you home, Sere," he said and enveloped her in a hug. "I'm sorry for what I said the last time you were here. You did do what you set out to do, and I shouldn't have called you a whore."

She smiled into his chest as tears began to fall down her cheeks. "Oh, daddy, I think I've messed up." She let him take her into the house and sit her down at the kitchen table where her mom was already waiting for her with a bowl of ice cream. She gratefully accepted it, and gave her mother a quick hug.

"Okay, honey, now what happened?" Her mother asked as she sat across from her daughter. Serena took a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth and let it melt fully before she opened her mouth and told her parents everything that had happened.

* * *

 Day 56

* * *

Serena woke up in the bed that she used to sleep in when she was still in high school. Her eyes fixated on the poster that was almost directly above her bed. It was a picture of Johnny Depp, she knew that, but all she could picture was Darien. The dark hair reminded her of Darien, his eyes…she closed hers and turned on her side to stop looking at the poster. As much as the sexy almost fifty-year-old pirate was – she couldn't stop seeing her pop star. She couldn't stop thinking about him either, but it wasn't going to help her come up with a plan to get back to him.

She had told her parents everything last night and they agreed that she could stay as long as she needed to. But her father was still insisting that it was only temporary. He didn't raise a girl who gave up easily. And she didn't want to give up easily, but…

How do you outman the master of plotting when he held your career and Darien's career in the balance? She groaned again and pulled the blanket over her head. She couldn't think. It was too early. She turned back to find the clock and saw that it was two in the afternoon. Shit. Did she say too early? She threw the covers off herself and got out of bed.

As much as she wanted to stay in there, she wasn't the type who took to her bed when the going got rough. She walked into the kitchen to find that her parents had left her a note on the counter.

_Serena,_

_Dad went to run errands and I have lunch with some ladies from work._

_Hope you're feeling better._

_Mom_

So she had the house to herself. Well, if she had known that she probably would have stayed in bed. She shook her head and brewed herself an iced coffee before making her way into the family room where she turned on the TV to an entertainment news program.

Her hand hesitated on the remote, but she figured she might as well find out what they were saying about her.

_"The music world was sent into shock last night when Darien Shields announced that Serena London and her band were leaving the summer tour due to some personal issues that the singer would not elaborate on. After the shocking news that the court case that Serena was involved with is going forward, we can't help but think that that is the personal issue that she had to deal with. However, news reports have come in saying that the case was dismissed. So what personal issues is Serena having that has caused her to leave the tour?"_

A commercial came on after the report. Serena sighed. Well, that hadn't been too bad. The one tomorrow was probably going to be worse. There was no way that the media would just settle for the personal issues story. They would exploit every angle they could. She sighed and gasped when she heard a buzzing sound from the kitchen table.

She got up from her seat and wandered over to see what the source of the noise was. It was her cell phone. She didn't even remember putting it on the table last night. Hell, she didn't even remember bringing it into the house. She could have sworn she might have left it in the car. She shook her head and pressed a few buttons to find out why it had buzzed.

She had new text messages; one from Lita, one from Mina, one from Raye, one from Mark, and one from Sapphire. She read each one and smiled at her friends' texts. They had figured out what she had said in her letters and they were telling her that they were keeping an eye on Darien and trying to figure out a way to expose Sapphire for whom he really was. She was glad to know that she wasn't alone in this. She just wished Darien had figured out her letter too.

Speaking of…she clicked on Sapphire's message and braced herself. She should have known that her tricks weren't going to go unnoticed.

**Serena,**

**Nice trick with the letter to Darien. You almost had me fooled.**

**But I kept my end of the bargain. Make sure you keep yours.**

**Next time I won't be so lenient.**

**Love,**

**Sapphire**

So lenient? Who was he trying to kid? He called kicking her off the tour lenient? Letting Darien think she was a whore was lenient? Fucking asshole! She let out a scream of rage. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, ready to reply, but she came up short. Did she really want to push him? Hell yes, she did.

**I have more tricks where that came from. Don't push me.**

She hit send and prayed that she hadn't just unleashed some hounds that she wasn't prepared for.

* * *

Sapphire's phone went off as they landed in the next city for the tour. Darien looked over at him.

"That has to be a new record," he said with a smile on his face. "We've barely been on the ground for five seconds and you're already receiving texts?"

"Apparently," Sapphire commented and read the new text message. He laughed out loud when he saw it.

"That can't be someone from the record company," Darien commented.

"You're right, it's not. It's just someone who should know better than to mess with me." He smirked up at his pop star. "But it's not anything for you to worry about. I can handle this. Are you ready though to meet your new opening act?" He escorted them off the plane.

Darien looked up in shock. "New opening act? Already?"

"Yes, the record company sent her this morning. The show yesterday was good, but they think you need someone to open. So…Darien, I'd like you to meet Beryl."

Darien turned to the person that Sapphire had pointed to. Standing next to the black town car was a red headed woman who had sharp green eyes and the black dress she was wearing was skin tight and very _very_ short. He could see why the record company sent her. They were hoping to distract him from his heartbreak over Serena. Well, he wasn't going to let them distract him that easily. Even though, later…who knows?

"Hi," she said in a sexy voice. "It's so nice to meet the famous Darien Shields."

"It's good to meet you too, Beryl," he said. "So shall we?" He opened the car door and followed her inside, not seeing Sapphire's smile as he typed on his phone.

* * *

Serena was writing in her song journal when her phone buzzed again. She knew who it was without even having to look. She opened the message anyway and almost gasped in frustration.

**As enticing as that sounds, it's you who shouldn't test me. Example A: the lead story on Entertainment Tonight…**

What had he done? She ran from her room to the family room where her dad was just finishing watching the seven o'clock news. He looked up at her.

"Is everything okay?" He asked.

"I'll let you know in a second," she replied and turned back to the television set. The intro to the show began to play and then cut to Mary Hart standing next to a picture of her and…Sapphire?!

_"Breaking news from Entertainment Tonight, it turns out that the personal issues that Serena London the lead singer of the band Beautiful Angels Go to Hell had to deal with had nothing to do with her court case, but with the fact that she tried to cheat on Darien Shields with his manager Sapphire Thornton. According to reports, Serena tried to engage Sapphire in a relationship on many occasions, and it was only after Darien found out that she left the tour in shame. No comments from either Darien or Serena's camps on this story."_

Serena collapsed onto the ground and almost screamed. Except that this wasn't anyone's fault but her own. She had provoked the bear. She should have known better… Her phone buzzed in her hand and she looked down before tears fell from her eyes.

**Not only does Darien know that you are a whore, but the whole world too. Will your fans really stand by you now that this is out? I told you not to mess with me…**

She closed her eyes in shame. This was horrible. She should have known better. Damn it all. Her father put a hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him.

"Hey, you'll find a way to get back at him. I know you, you won't let him get away with this."

"I wish I had the same confidence in myself as you do in me," she whispered. "But I don't know how to make this better…not yet…"

* * *

Day 57

* * *

Her Twitter account had exploded over night. She lost hundreds of followers. She got thousands of hate tweets calling her a whore and a no talent hack. The band message boards were just as bad. The followers who stayed offered their undying support, but as much as she wanted it to soften the blow, it didn't. It was crazy how easily her fans would believe that she had tried to cheat on Darien. She wanted to say something to them, but she just didn't know what would make them believe her that wouldn't fan the flames.

She upped the volume of her iPod, trying to block out the world. But her thoughts wouldn't be silenced. Not to mention she was pretty sure people were staring at her. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to go to the local coffee shop to do some song writing. True her hair was shorter than the last time she had been here, but it was still blonde and although she was wearing sunglasses, people were probably putting the pieces together. It was time for her to leave, before someone did figure it out.

She gathered her stuff and left the shop, but not before overhearing a conversation.

"That Sapphire guy is such a lying little tool! Like Serena would really cheat on Darien with a guy like that?"

"C'mon, she slept with Darien why wouldn't she try to sleep with Sapphire? That guy could probably get her places that Darien couldn't. Serena is only a fame-seeking whore."

"With vocal pipes like that? She doesn't need a man to get her places, she can do it all by herself. That Sapphire guy is lying and needs to be stopped."

Serena smiled as she walked away. It was nice to have someone to stand up for her. In fact, as she scrolled through her Twitter mentions, she realized that her fans that were standing up for her were starting to outnumber her haters.

**serenaangelx – To my fans who are defending me: thank you. You don't know what your trust and allegiance mean to me.**

**serenaangelx – To my haters: before you tell yourself it's just a different scene, remember it's just different from what you've seen.**

* * *

Darien had ignored the scandal since it broke the afternoon before. He ignored the paparazzi that shouted questions at him about the cheating. But, that morning, when his phone buzzed alerting him that Serena had tweeted something, he couldn't ignore it anymore. He was curious as to what she was going to say about the affair. When he read the tweets, he was still confused. Just as confused as he was when he read her letter. The difference between then and now was that he was sick and tired of her games. He was sick and tired of her. If she didn't want to admit to the affair, then that was her choice. But he wasn't going to stand by and watch anymore.

He pressed on the screen a few times, before putting it down and going back to song writing. He finally was inspired to write something new.

* * *

Day 58

* * *

Just when she was starting to feel better about things, and was getting ready to come up with a plan to reveal Sapphire as the scum that he was, something brought her back down.

It started with the news report on the regular news, because Serena refused to watch the entertainment news anymore. That's why she was shocked when they had an entertainment segment on the noon news.

_"After allegations of a cheating scandal Serena took to Twitter to thank her fans who were supporting her and to reprimand the ones who weren't by telling them that what they were seeing wasn't all there was to see. Darien who had been silent since news of the scandal broke, finally broke his silence with an action of his own. Darien is no longer following Serena on Twitter…"_

She stopped listening as soon as the words left the anchorwoman's lips. He had done _what_? She grabbed her phone from the side table by her chair and launched the Twitter app. She clicked on her followers and scrolled to the bottom of the page.

His name was gone.

Her hand began shaking instantly before she searched his name. Once she found him she saw his latest tweet and almost began to cry.

**darienshields – What different scene? The only one I remember is the one where our love turned into nothing…**

There was a link to a video and Serena didn't hesitate. She clicked the link and waited for it to load. The video was titled _Darien Shields New Single Live_. She waited until it automatically began to play and then she saw him for the first time since she had left. While she obsessed about his looks, he began to sing and she forgot everything else.

_Come inside stop scratching at my door  
Live inside me help me count the ways you once adored  
Lovers need a place to lay their heads  
As a broken promise returns too late  
Another sunset meets an argument  
Fade out of nowhere into nothing  
Into nothing at all  
How did my love turn into something  
That you don't really want?  
Nothing nothing nothing  
Our loves turns into  
Nothing nothing nothing  
Our love turns into  
When did your eyes get so icy blue?  
When did you stop seeing me as a reflection of you?  
Take me to the place of broken dreams  
Where your hopes deserted or showed up late  
And tore apart the love we might have made  
Fade out of nowhere into nothing  
Into nothing at all  
How did my love turn into something  
That you don't really want  
And we both know what you're thinking  
But we cut through the straight lines  
Fade out of nowhere into nothing  
Into nothing at all  
Nothing, nothing, nothing  
Our love turns into nothing, nothing, nothing  
Our love turns into nothing, nothing, nothing  
Our love turns into nothing, nothing, nothing  
Our love turns into  
No more excuses for turning away  
You can't stop a heartache by running away  
I can't sit back and watch love fade to gray_

She turned off the video before the song finished, but she had a feeling that it was just a repeat of the chorus from that point on. Tears were running down her face and she couldn't believe that he had actually written and performed that song. Not to mention the tweet that corresponded with this video. He was calling her out as a liar. That stupid…

She rolled through her contacts and called Lita.

Lita picked up instantly, "Serena, are you okay?"

"Not really," she responded her voice hoarse from crying.

"What's wrong?"

"I saw the video that Darien posted on Twitter," she replied.

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh," she blew her nose. "So, here's my idea. I'm coming back to LA."

"Okay."

"That's it."

"Serena, I hate to inform you, but that's really not much of a plan. In fact, considering the media hordes that are surrounding the record label right now, it's not a great one either."

"Then what do I do, Lita?" Serena asked, the tears forming in her eyes again. "I try to get my message out, Sapphire provokes me. I try to put him in his place, he releases the story about our supposed affair. I tell the world that the story they are hearing isn't what it appears to be, but Darien comes out and says that I broke his heart with a new single no less! What do I do?"

"You figure it out, Serena," Nick said. "Come on, I know you can be cunning. You just got to be cunning in a different way now."

"But it's hard," she said. "There isn't much cunning going on over here. It's mostly heartbreak."

"You'll heal," Paul piped in.

"How do you know?" She asked.

"Because you know the truth, and you'll figure something out."

"I hope you guys are right."

"We are, and we love you, Serena. When you are ready, come back to us and we can implement the plan that you come up with."

"I love you guys too," she said and hung up. Her fingers hesitated as she entered her Twitter app again. What could she possibly say that could rebuke what Darien had done? She had given up on adding more feeder to the fire, it was too late for that now. Everything she said now was going to cause the media to go into an uproar. Her only saving grace was what her friends had said. She wasn't in LA, so they couldn't hound her for more details. And until she was ready, this is where she would stay…

**serenaangelx – When did *your* eyes turn so icy blue? When did you stop believing the truth?**

* * *

Darien didn't hear about the tweet from Serena until one of his fans retweeted it and mentioned him. As he read her words, he couldn't help but feel some sort of joy. So she had listened to his song and it was causing her pain. Well, good! Now, at least, she knew how he felt. What her betrayal had done to him was worse than he could even put into song. But the new song, 'Nothing' was as close to what he was feeling as she was going to get from him.

**darienshields – And what truth was there for me to believe? The only thing you did was deceive.**

He sighed as he sent the tweet. It probably wasn't a good idea to start this war in the social media atmosphere, but he hadn't started it. She had with her cryptic words that confused him to no end. It wasn't his fault that he was trying to end it, trying to make it so that way there was no way she could rebuff what he was saying.

"Let it go, Serena," he whispered. "Let it go so we can move on."

* * *

"I am going to kill that blonde haired slut!" A feminine screech came from the other room. Sapphire winced and could only guess at what his sister was screaming about now. It had to be the Twitter war that Darien and Serena had gotten into. He sighed and went to see what it was that his sister wanted to kill Serena for this time.

"Beryl," he greeted as he came into the room. "Considering the rigorous tour schedule that you're on right now, is it really smart for you to strain your vocal chords?"

"No, of course not, but this bitch!" She shoved her tablet under his nose. "Is working on my last nerve. Sapphire, she's off the tour and should be cowering in a corner that you're going to ruin her career. But she's _not_. She's, god knows where, stirring up trouble! Why couldn't she leave with whatever dignity she had left?"

Sapphire read the tweets that Serena and Darien had sent and chuckled. They were getting quite ingenious with their no naming of specific names, but it was obvious whom the other was talking about. But his sister was right too. Considering how this war started, he would have thought that Serena would have let it go. Or did she not value her career? He sighed. This part of the plan was out of his hands.

"Well," he said. "You could shut all of this up. Or have you forgotten the next step of the plan?"

She scoffed. "Like I could? I'm the one who came up with it, but Darien isn't giving me the time of day. He's still too hung up on Serena. I think I'm going to need your help."

"Why didn't you say so before?" He asked with an evil grin. "Now that I have his ear again…it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Just leave it to me, little sister."

* * *

Darien took a swig from the glass the bartender put in front of him. He found himself doing this a lot more than he wanted to do since _she_ had left him. But as Sapphire had so bluntly pointed out to him this afternoon, it wasn't good to dwell on what had happened. He needed to show the media that he was over everything that had to deal with _her_. And in reality, he really was. They both needed to move on. The media needed to move on. _She_ was gone and _she_ wasn't coming back on this tour. Yes, _she_ was still going to have _her_ career after all was said and done, but he doubted that they would ever cross paths again. Or at least, that was his plan…

But the question was whom did he move on to? Anne had left him because she didn't want to get involved with what was going on with him and _her_. Even now that that had run its course he doubted Anne would come back. The same went for his other 'play mates' that he had had. So whom did that leave?

_"You know the new opening act, Beryl has been eyeing you since she showed up a few days ago,"_ Sapphire had told him earlier that day. Darien was floored when he told him that. He hadn't even noticed the new girl. He had been so preoccupied with everything that was going on from the previous opening act that he hadn't even bothered to welcome her properly to the tour. In fact, he should really do something about that…he got up from his bar stool and was about to throw a few bills down when the bartender came by and placed another drink in front of him.

"I didn't - "

"Lady down the bar, bought it," he replied and walked away. Darien looked over and was shocked to see the new girl lifting a drink of her own, as if to say 'cheers.' He grabbed the drink and went to sit down next to her. It was time he gave her his thanks properly and a welcome to the tour.

"Hi," she purred as he took the bar stool next to her.

"Hi, thanks for the drink," he said as he took a sip from the glass.

"It's not a problem. I figured after the last couple of days, you could use one."

"Last couple of days? More like the last week," he sighed. "Sorry. I don't mean to be so cold with you. It's been a really bad week, and I still have unresolved feelings about what happened."

"I don't blame you," she replied placing her hand over his. "I don't know what I would do if the person I loved betrayed me like that. It must be hard."

"It is, but at least I'm getting some really good song writing out of this."

"Yeah, I heard the new song last night," Beryl said with a smile on her face. "It was so different from what you've done before. It was really raw emotion."

"Thanks, but what kind of music do you do?"

"Oh, well," Beryl started to look embarrassed. "I'm not really proud of the music I do. I'm not like you, and write my own stuff. I mean I tried but it just doesn't sound right."

"I know what you mean, the same thing happened to me when I first tried writing my own stuff. But eventually you just find a way to make it sound right. Although, you still have days where you're like this isn't going to work and you throw out a lot of pages…then you find your way again and everything just makes sense." Darien tried to reassure her. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't give up yet. Keep trying, you can even show me some of your lyrics if you aren't sure."

"Thanks Darien, that means a lot," she chuckled. "However, I'm pretty sure you're going to regret making that offer." She smiled.

* * *

Day 62

* * *

Serena was trying real hard to come up with a plan. Her brain kept thinking, and thinking, and thinking. But she couldn't come up with anything. It didn't help that her mind kept deviating to the tweet that Darien had sent three days ago. She hadn't responded to it, even though she desperately wanted to. She knew though that if she did, the war would continue, the media would keep jumping on it, and then both of them wouldn't be able to get what they wanted. Even though Serena didn't want Darien to move on, she knew that to deceive Sapphire she had to make it look like she didn't care anymore, that she was letting him go.

She figured that could be part A of her plan…she just needed to figure out what part B was, and would there be a part C… She sighed and stared up at the ceiling again. _Part A is to make it look like I don't care anymore about Darien. I don't care what he does, or who if it comes to that. Part B is what? Make it look like I've moved on? How does that help anything?_ She thought to herself. What she _should_ do instead of looking like she moved on was to release a new song, a teaser of what the album was going to be. And she could do that by collaborating with someone new, which would _definitely_ show that she had 'moved on.' Or at least give the pretense… As for Part C…she needed to become Darien's friend again. They had been friends before, why couldn't they be again? Besides if they became friends, it would show everyone that everything between them was fine. Everything was forgiven.

That part though was going to be tricky, considering how angry Darien was with her… _Well, that's why it's going to be Part C_. She thought to herself. So first things first…she needed a song that would be good for a collaboration and then she needed an artist for that collaboration. However, when it came to a song she had a problem. She hadn't really written anything since she had left the tour. Well, okay, that wasn't one hundred percent accurate. She had written three songs since she left the tour, but none that were good enough for a come back or a collaboration. Besides, the songs that she had written went against her plan. They were songs that showed that she did in fact still care. So she couldn't use those.

She needed to write a new song. She needed inspiration. Waking up her computer she went to YouTube and checked out the homepage. One of the top videos caught her attention. It was a live performance by some new artist named Beryl. _Beryl_ , she frowned as she read the name. _Why does that name sound so familiar?_ She shook her head and clicked on the video.

As the video was loading she read some of the comments and realized why the name sounded so familiar.

**BAGTH4EVA – Beryl isn't as good as Serena for Darien's opening act. The song is also a low blow. C'mon Beryl be more original.**

**IKNEWILOVEU – Beryl is amazing and perfect to mend Darien's broken heart!**

Beryl was Sapphire's sister, the one he planned on being on the tour in the first place instead of her. The one this whole mess of drama was about. She hesitated as the video began to play. Should she really be watching this? She sighed and sat back, letting the video continue on.

_Do you think of her  
When you're with me?  
Repeat the memories you made together  
Who's face do you see?  
Do you wish I was bit more like her?  
Am I too loud?  
I play the clown  
To cover up all these doubts  
Perfect heart, she's flawless  
She's the other woman  
Shining in her splendor  
You were lost  
Now she's gone  
And I'm picking up the pieces  
I watch you cry  
But you don't see  
That I'm the one by your side  
Cause she's gone  
In her shadow is it me you see?  
Cause all that's left is you and I  
And I'm picking up the pieces  
She's left behind  
I found a photograph behind your TV  
You look so happy, are you missing the way it used to be?  
And I have changed this room more often lately  
It's clear that me and these four walls  
Still know it's hers and yours  
Perfect heart, she's flawless  
She's the other woman  
Shining in her splendor  
You were lost  
Now she's gone  
And I'm picking up the pieces  
I watch you cry  
But you don't see  
That I'm the one by your side  
Cause she's gone  
In her shadow is it me you see?  
Cause all that's left is you and I  
And I'm picking up the pieces  
She's left behind  
Are we liars in denial?  
Are we smoke without the fire?  
Tell me please, is this worth it  
I deserve it  
Cause she's gone  
And I'm picking up the pieces  
I watch you cry  
But you don't see that I'm the one by your side  
Cause she's gone  
In her shadow is it me you see?  
Cause all that's left is you and I  
And I'm picking up the pieces  
She left behind_

Serena felt the fury boiling in her veins before the bitch even hit the second verse. How could it possibly be that she was calling _her_ out when they didn't even know each other? When everything that was happening was because of her and her brother's evil plot to make sure they were the new power couple? She was so furious she clicked off the page and drummed her fingers near the keyboard. She used to listen to rap when she was in high school when she was angry. It used to calm her down. But she hadn't listened in a while…

She typed rap into the search bar and the top search was some random artist named HT. His most popular video came up first and she clicked on it and waited…

_I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid  
To take a stand, to take a stand  
(Yeah, it's been a ride)  
Everybody, everybody  
(I guess I had to)  
Come take my hand, come take my hand  
(Go to that place to get to this one)  
We'll walk this world together through the storm  
(Now some of you)  
Whatever weather, cold or warm  
(Might still be in that place)  
Just lettin' you know that you're not alone  
(If you're tryin' to get out)  
Holla if you feel like you've been down the same road  
(Just follow me, I'll get you there)  
You can try and read my lyrics off of this paper before I lay'em  
But you won't take the sting out these words before I say'em  
_ ' _Cause ain't no way I'ma let you stop me from causing mayhem  
When I say I'ma do something, I do it, I don't give a damn what you think  
I'm doing this for me, so fuck the world  
Feed it beans, it's gassed up if it thinks it's stopping me  
I'ma be what I set out to be, without a doubt, undoubtedly  
And all those who look down on me, I'm tearing down your balcony  
No if, ands, or buts, don't try to ask him why or how he can he  
From "infinite" down to that last "Relapse" album  
He's still shittin' whether he's on salary, paid hourly  
Until he bows out or he shits his bowels out of him  
Whichever comes first, for better or worse  
He's married to the game, like a fuck-you for Christmas  
His gift is a curse, forget the earth, he's got  
The urge to pull his dick from the dirt and fuck the whole universe  
I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid  
To take a stand, to take a stand  
Everybody, everybody  
Come take my hand, come take my hand  
We'll walk this route together through the storm  
Whatever weather, cold or warm  
Just lettin' you know that you're not alone  
Holla if you feel like you've been down the same road  
Okay, quit playin' with the scissors and shit and cut the crap  
I shouldn't have to rhyme these words in a rhythm for you to know it's a rap  
You said you were the king, you lied through your teeth  
For that fuck your fillings, instead of getting crowned you're getting capped  
And to the fans, I'll never let you down again, I'm back  
I promise to never go back on that promise, in fact  
Let's be honest, that last "Relapse" CD, was "eh"  
Perhaps I ran the max and since hit the ground  
Relax, I ain't goin' back to that now  
All I'm tryin' to say is get back, click clack, pow  
_ ' _Cause I ain't playin' around, it's the game called circlin'  
I don't know how, I'm way too rough to back down  
But I think I'm still tryin' to figure this crap out  
Thought I had it mapped out, but I guess I didn't  
This fucking black cloud still follows me around  
But it's time to exorcise these demons, these motherfuckers are doing jumping-jacks now  
I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid  
To take a stand, to take a stand  
Everybody, everybody  
Come take my hand, come take my hand  
We'll walk this route together through the storm  
Whatever weather, cold or warm  
Just lettin' you know that you're not alone  
Holla if you feel like you've been down the same road  
And I just can't keep living this way  
So starting today, I'm breaking out of this cage  
I'm standing up, I'ma face my demons  
I'm manning up, I'ma hold my ground  
I've had enough, now I'm so fed up  
Tryin' to put my life back together right now  
It was my decision to get clean, I did it for me  
Admittedly, I probably did is subliminally for you  
So I could come back a brand new me, you helped see me through  
And don't even realize what you did, believe me you  
I've been through the ringer, but take it through little to the middle finger  
I got a tear in my eye, I feel like the king of  
My world, haters can make like bees with no stingers  
And drop dead, no more beef fingers  
No more drama, from now on I promise to only focus  
On handlin' my responsibilities as a father  
So I solemnly swear to always treat this roof like my daughters  
And raise it, you couldn't lift a single shingle on it  
_ ' _Cause the way I feel, I'm strong enough to go to the club  
Or the corner pub and lift the whole liquor counter up  
_ ' _Cause I'm raisin' the bar, I shoot for the moon  
But I'm too busy gazin' at stars I feel amazin'_

Serena's eyes had widened at the end of the song and she began to do her research to figure out who this HT guy was. When her eyes zeroed in on the record label he was signed to she smiled and brought out her cell phone.

"Serena?"

"Hey Amy," she replied. "So I have a weird request."

"Serena, I haven't heard from you since you left for the tour, and you're already asking me for a request? Shouldn't you tell me how the tour is going?"

"Amy, I know you know, that I've been off the tour for almost a week."

"Yeah, but I want to know why."

Serena froze for a second. "Don't you already know though? Haven't you seen the news and what they're saying about me and why I really left?"

"I have," her music producer paused. "But I don't believe them."

"You don't?"

"No," she replied. "You forget I've been working with Sapphire for years. I know the kind of shit he can pull. And I have a feeling he did the same thing with you."

"I wish I could tell you everything, but I'm afraid I can't. At least not yet."

"Okay, I understand. So what is this request?"

"Can you get me a meeting with HT?"

"HT? As in the rap star whose signed with this record label?"

"The same."

"I'm not sure he'll want to meet with you…"

"Just try."

"Okay, I'll try and let you know how it goes."

"Thanks Amy, for everything."

"No problem, Serena."

* * *

Day 68

* * *

"The captain has turned off the seat belt sign and we want to thank you for flying United Airlines. Welcome to Los Angeles," the stewardess said and Serena took off her seatbelt. She hadn't planned on coming back for several more days, but when Amy called telling her that HT would meet with her if she came to LA on the next flight…well, she didn't really have a choice did she? She hadn't expected him to want to meet with her. That's why she was shocked when Amy had called with the good news.

But it made things difficult. The media had died down a little about the cheating scandal since she had gone silent on Twitter. But they were still speculating when she was going to return to, as some people were guessing, LA or when she was going to come out of hiding. She still wasn't ready for that, so she had to take certain measures to make sure that no one recognized her. She wore her hair in a ponytail and before she left Michigan, made sure that all the brunette had washed out of her hair. She wore a short-sleeved hooded shirt and made sure that the hood was up when she left the plane. Then there were her black aviator sunglasses, which covered the color of her eyes. As she made her way to the luggage carousel, she was pretty sure no one had recognized her. So far so good…

Now, the only question was how was she going to get to the record label? She could take a cab, but when she told the driver where she was going he could report it to the paparazzi. Same went for the bus, there would just be too many people on board who might recognize her. She sighed and started to wander over to the departure section of the airport.

It was just by chance that she saw a guy holding a sign with "S. London" on it. She approached the gentleman hesitantly. How was she to know who this guy was? For all she knew the paparazzi were staking out the airport… She sighed. She really needed to stop being so paranoid…

"Hi," Serena greeted the guy.

"Hello," he replied and looked around before lowering his voice to a whisper. "Are you Serena London?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Okay, the record label sent me to take you to your meeting. Please, follow me."

* * *

She walked into the recording booth and watched, as a guy with blonde hair, who she could only assume, was HT, finished recording a song. Amy looked up at her entrance and smiled at her.

"Good to see that you could make it," she said in greeting.

Serene nodded. "Is he done recording?"

"Yeah, he's done for the day, so you can go ahead and walk in."

"Thanks, Amy, for setting this up."

"Not a problem. Just remember, I set it up, you have to figure out a way to make him work with you."

Serena knew that. She'd been thinking about it since she first thought of collaborating with him. How was she going to sell this in such a way that he would want to work with her? She hadn't really come up with a plan. She was just going to wing it and see what happened. The fact that he was taking the meeting with her at all had to be a good start. Right?

She walked into the studio, and he looked up automatically at her entrance.

"Serena London," he said in greeting.

"HT," she replied.

"So I have to say, I was rather surprised when Amy told me you wanted to have a meeting with me," he leaned on the wall and stared at her with intimidating hazel eyes. "I did my research and you have been causing quite a stir this summer. I'm surprised someone who was dating Darien Shields wants to talk to me. We don't really roll in the same circles."

"I know, but I was watching your music video for 'Not Afraid' and I told myself that I needed to meet you."

He raised an eyebrow at that, "You saw the music video for 'Not Afraid?'"

"Yeah, I loved it."

"Really?"

"Yep, I found that I could really relate to it. Especially right now."

"How is that possible?" He asked surprised. "Unless you're dealing with a drug problem on top of the cheating scandal?"

"No, but the cheating scandal is mostly why I can relate to it."

"Mostly?"

"Let's just say that there was no cheating scandal, but certain people manipulated the facts to make it look like there was one."

"Damn," HT whistled. "I'm thinking you and I need to have a long conversation before you get to the reason why you're here." He sat down on the couch that was in the studio and offered her a seat next to him.

"Well, you see it went something like this…"

* * *

At the end of her story, HT stared at her. Really stared and Serena just sat there and let him. She knew it was going to take a while for what she said to sink in. It was a lot to process. Especially to someone who was new to everything that was going on like HT was. Eventually he stood up and went to the stand that was in front of the microphone. He shuffled some sheets before selecting the one he wanted and coming back to her. He handed her the sheet and she read through it.

It was lyrics for a new song.

She instantly fell in love.

"I love this," she said.

"I thought you would, although some of it doesn't really apply to your situation," he replied. "But I figured in a figurative sense it sort of worked for what you're going through."

"Why are you giving me this though?"

"Isn't that why you wanted to meet me? So we could do a collaboration?" He asked and smiled at her shocked expression. "Just to let you know, I wanted to do a collaboration with you _before_ you told me about what happened on that tour. Now, I _really_ want to even more. No one should take what Sapphire's doing lying down. I'll help you however you want."

"Thank you," she said smiling for the first time in days. "But I have an idea…"

* * *

Day 72

* * *

Darien saw the picture on Twitter, which didn't surprise him. He'd been spending a lot of time on the social networking site since Serena had dropped off the face of the earth. He thought that with the tweet he had last sent about how their relationship went up in flames, she would have responded with something just as cryptic as she usually did. But she sent nothing, and after stalking her for the last few days, she hadn't sent anything since her comment about their relationship. No one had heard from Serena since then…she hadn't even been seen in LA. Some people were thinking she wasn't even in the city and instead was hiding out somewhere. That's why when he saw the picture he breathed a sigh of relief to know that she was back, but frowned when he took a good look at the picture.

She was hanging out in an outdoor café in LA, but she wasn't alone and she wasn't with her band mates. She was hanging out with the rapper HT and they looked like they were having a good old time. The headline above the picture said: **SERENA OUT OF HIDING AND MOVING ON!** Darien didn't know why it bothered him so much. This is what he wanted after all. Besides wasn't he moving on too? At least, that's what he thought since he and Beryl had been hanging out a lot recently.

But still it irked him that Serena was hanging out with HT. He knew HT's history and he was concerned for her, which didn't make any sense considering how much she had hurt him. He shouldn't still care, but he did. Even though things had ended badly between them, he missed her and wanted the best. Maybe he should call her one of these days…

* * *

Serena was preparing to go into the studio when her friends came bursting in.

"SERENA!" They exclaimed and rushed to give her a hug. She smiled at their reaction and hugged them back just as hard. It felt great to see them again.

"I missed you guys," she said as they finally let her go.

"We missed you too," Nick said. "Why didn't you tell us sooner that you were back?"

"I meant to, but I was executing my plan and totally forgot to," she replied.

"So you did come up with one?" Lita asked.

"Yep, and right now I'm on part B."

"What was Part A?" Paul asked.

"Well, you lived part A," she explained. "I've been off Twitter and tried to stay low. It wasn't until yesterday that I came out for the paparazzi to see me."

"Okay…but what was the point?" Paul asked.

"By her silence it shows that Serena is moving on and doesn't care about the scandal anymore," Nick explained sensing her train of thought. "Quite brilliant. So Part B would be?"

"Releasing a new song, and have it be a collaboration so that way it adds to Part A."

"And who are you - "

"Hey, Sere, are you ready to do this?" HT asked as he breezed in the room. He stopped short when he saw her surrounded by her band. "Oh, hey, you must be the band. It's great to meet you."

"You're working with HT?!" Lita and Nick exclaimed.

"Um…I'm guessing my reputation precedes me?" HT actually looked sheepish. Serena looked between her friends and HT, who was also her friend now. She had no idea what they were talking about…

"What reputation?"

"Well, other than the drugs…" he trailed off. "Let's just say things are complicated."

"Wait, does this have anything to do with your daughter?"

"Something like that," he said now looking sad.

"So, what's the song about?" Lita asked changing the subject. HT looked up and nodded his thanks.

"Well…"

* * *

Day 73

* * *

HT's new single featuring Serena came out at eleven am EST. By noon, the world fell in love and the fans she lost came back. But questions were soon brought up. During Serena's portion of the song, what was she singing about? A question that Darien himself was asking when he finally heard the song a few hours later…

Darien's hand hesitated on the 'follow' button that was next to Serena's name on Twitter. He'd been debating about this since yesterday afternoon and he still hadn't come up with an answer. Should he follow her again? Or should he just keep not following her? It was complicated he knew that. Yes, she hurt him. She hurt him bad by cheating on him, but did she really do it? The way that she had been acting after he 'found' her out wasn't the way she should have acted if she had really cheated on him. Besides, he missed her. A lot. His finger was frozen above the button when the page auto-reloaded. She had finally tweeted something new…

**serenaangelx – New song with HT. Click the link below and let us know what you think!**

Darien clicked on the link and turned the volume up on his phone. The music player loaded and the song began with Serena singing.

_Just gonna stand there and watch me burn  
Well that's all right because I like the way it hurts  
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry  
Well, that's all right because I love the way you lie  
I love the way you lie_

Darien's face was scrunched up as he tried to deceiver what Serena meant. He knew her. Her lyrics always had meaning. So what was she trying to say?

_I can't tell you what it really is, I can only tell you what it feels like  
And right now there's a steel knife in my windpipe  
I can't breathe but I still fight while I can fight  
As long as the wrong feels right it's like I'm in flight  
High off of love, drunk from hate  
It's like I'm huffin' paint and I love it, the more I suffer  
I suffocate and right before I'm about to drown, she resuscitates me  
She fuckin' hates me, and I love it  
Wait, where you going? I'm leaving you, no, you ain't  
Come back, we're running right back, here we go again  
It's so insane, 'cause when it's going good, it's going great  
I'm Superman with the wind at his back  
She's Lois Lane but when it's bad, it's awful, I feel so ashamed  
I snap, "Who's that dude?," I don't even know his name  
I laid hands on her, I never stoop so low again  
I guess I don't know my own strength  
Just gonna stand there and watch me burn  
Well that's all right because I like the way it hurts  
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry  
Well, that's all right because I love the way you lie  
I love the way you lie  
I love the way you lie  
You ever love somebody so much, you could barely breathe when you with 'em?  
You meet, and neither one of you even know it hit 'em  
Got that warm fuzzy feeling, yeah, them chills, use to get 'em  
Now you're getting' fuckin' sick of lookin' at 'em  
You swore you'd never hit 'em, never do nothing to hurt 'em  
Now you're in each other's face spewing venom in your words when you spit 'em  
You push, pull each other's hair, scratch, claw, bit 'em  
Throw'em down, pin 'em, so lost in the moments when you're in 'em  
It's the race that took over, it controls you both  
So they say you'd best to go your separate ways, guess that they don't know ya  
_ ' _Cause today, that was yesterday, yesterday is over, it's a different day  
Sound like broke records playing over  
But you promised her, next time you'd show restraint  
You don't get another chance, life is no Nintendo game  
But you lied again, now you get to watch her leave out the window  
Guess that's why they call it "window pane"  
Just gonna stand there and watch me burn  
Well that's all right because I like the way it hurts  
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry  
Well that's all right because I love the way you lie  
I love the way you lie  
I love the way you lie  
Now I know we said things, did things that we didn't mean  
And we fall back into the same patterns, same routine  
But your temper's just as bad as mine is, you're the same as me  
But when it comes to love, you're just as blinded  
Baby, please come back, it's wasn't you, baby, it was me  
Maybe our relationship isn't as crazy as it seems  
Maybe that's what happens when a tornado meets a volcano  
All I know is I love you too much to walk away though  
Come inside, pick up your bags off the sidewalk  
Don't you hear sincerity in my voice when I talk?  
Told you this is my fault, look me in the eyeball  
Next time I'm pissed, I'll aim my fist at the drywall  
Next time? There won't be no next time  
I apologize, even though I know it's lies  
I'm tired of the games, I just want her back, I know I'm a liar  
If she ever tries to fuckin' leave again, I'ma tie her to the bed  
And set this house on fire  
Just gonna stand there and watch me burn  
Well that's all right because I like the way it hurts  
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry  
Well that's all right because I love the way you lie  
I love the way you lie  
I love the way you lie_

Darien didn't know what to think about the song. He really didn't. It wasn't Serena's usual stuff. If anything, she sounded like she did back before they went to Royal Oak – really vulnerable and pissed off at the world for whatever it had done to her. He guessed she had reason to be if what the media and he had been saying wasn't true. But the question remained was it? And if it wasn't why didn't Serena try fighting harder to make him believe the truth?

**serenaangelx – Stoked at the great response for the new song. Look for part 2 soon!**

Darien sighed and pressed the follow button. It was time this feud be put to rest.

* * *

Beryl was having another fit. Sapphire could already hear it and he wasn't even in the room yet. He sighed. What was going on? Darien and her were getting closer by the day now that Serena had seemed to disappear off the face of the planet. And even when she did reappear she was spotted with the rapper HT. Meaning, for Sapphire, she was moving on and not letting the drama that had happened on the tour effect her. Which was fine with him, because that was what he wanted in the first place.

So why was Beryl causing damage to the hotel room?

He entered the room and saw pillows torn apart, vases broken, and her cell phone smashed to pieces against the wall. _Oh shit_ …he couldn't help but think.

"That fucking bitch!" Beryl screamed as she walked into the room and spotted him. "You said that this plan was going to work. You said that if I flirted with him and because she disappeared he was going to get over her and fall for me and then everything was going to go like it was supposed to! Well it's not working! She shows up with that fucking rapper and all of sudden Darien's following her again on Twitter!"

"Why?"

"How am I supposed to know? As much as I want to, Darien is NOT letting me into his thoughts! That bitch is plotting something!"

"Beryl, calm down, he's just following her on Twitter, it's not like he declared that he still loves her or anything. Besides, he probably just wants the feud that the media has going on to end. He just wants to be her friend again and let bygones be bygones. Don't freak out. You're still on this tour, and you can still manipulate him."

"You think so?"

"Yes, now c'mon let's think of way's you can get closer to him…"

* * *

Serena's phone lit up with a new notification. It was from Twitter and she smiled.

"Part C started," she whispered and went back to her conversation with her friends.


	15. Days 74-81: Why Can't We Be Friends?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys know the drill by now. I do NOT own the songs: "Underneath" by Adam Lambert, "Love the Way You Lie (Part 2)" by Rihanna featuring Eminem, and "I Can't Ever Get Enough of You" by Darren Hayes. I really, really, wish I did, but alas… anyway. On with chapter fifteen!

Beryl woke up in the hotel room, alone. It took her several seconds to figure out why she was alone and why her brother's usual morning routine didn't wake her up. She then remembered that Sapphire was taking a quick business trip to Europe. She didn't think it was the opportune time for this to happen, she was nowhere near completing their plan, and she didn't think she could handle it alone. Things were still too sensitive to make any progress. But Sapphire left anyway, telling her that it was only for nine days, a little bit more than a week. What could possibly go wrong?

The sensible part of her brain knew that he was right; nothing could go wrong. Yes, Darien was following Serena again on Twitter, but he knew better now than to trust her. He wasn't willing to let himself get that hurt again. But the paranoid part of her brain was freaking out. What could possibly go wrong? How about every little thing could go wrong? Serena, knowing that Sapphire was away, could try and tell Darien _everything_ , and because Darien was now following her on Twitter, he might just believe it. And her collaboration with HT could _not_ be a good sign. Ugh. Yes. Beryl knew of all the ways things could go wrong while Sapphire was away in Europe for the 'little bit more than a week.'

But she also knew all the ways that it could go right. What better time to make her move on Darien? He had to be over Serena's betrayal by now, right? There was only so long a guy could grieve for a former relationship. Besides if she could get closer to Darien then she could also implement _her_ plan…

Which was to take her brother out of the equation. It was evil of her to be planning this because of how he had gotten her into the position to make her play, but she didn't like to share the spotlight with her sibling. She never had even when they were kids. And now, with what he would gain from a marriage between her and Darien, would not be acceptable to her. So, she had a plan to get him out of the plan.

And with him going away…Beryl smiled her evil smile.

It was time.

* * *

Darien woke up in a good mood for the first time in weeks. He didn't understand why he was in such a good mood, but he was going to go with it. God knows his band was going to be thankful for the change. He checked his phone, as he did every morning, which was sure to end his uplifted spirits. But shockingly it didn't.

**serenaangelx: Getting pumped for the Teen Choice Awards! Just a week away. HT and I are going to start practicing for the show in a few days.**

Darien forgot about the TCA's with everything that had been going on. However, he should have remembered considering that's why he was going to be leaving for California in a few days. It was also, he remembered, Serena's first awards show, no wonder she was so excited. Maybe when he came back he should call her so that they could finally talk…

The only thing that dampened his mood that morning was trying to figure out what they would talk about should they meet up. He had his questions, but if they were to remain friends it would be best to not ask them. He sighed and got ready for the day. It was best to think in the present and not in the future.

When he opened the door to his hotel room later, he really wasn't surprised to find Beryl standing there. As clichéd as it sounded, considering he already dated his previous opening act, he was honestly thinking about starting something with her. Sapphire was right and he needed to move on, and Beryl was pretty…decent. Well, okay, every time he'd interacted with her he'd been slightly buzzed, but after Serena, it was difficult to find a girl who measured up. Beryl was slightly below Serena, but…he tried not to think too much about it. If he decided to date her, it would only be a rebound. It wasn't like he was going to marry her or anything.

"Good morning, Darien," she chirped a huge smile erupting on her face.

"Good morning, Beryl," he said back to her. "What brings you this way?"

"Well, remember a couple of weeks ago? When you offered to help me with some of my song writing?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm here to take you up on that offer."

"Oh, well," he hesitated for a second. But why? He was free…in more than one sense. And hadn't he just thought about this? "That's convenient because I was going to do some writing of my own."

"Great!" She exclaimed as he opened the door to let her in.

* * *

Serena and HT had become the biggest writing and performing duo that the music industry had seen in quite some time. The success of "Love the Way You Lie" was blowing everyone's minds and made the world forget about Serena's "indiscretion." Now, everyone was clamoring for part 2 of the song. Serena and HT agreed that they wouldn't release it until the day of the Teen Choice Awards where they would perform it live. Until rehearsals for the show started, Serena and her friends were in the studio starting to record the next album, which had a slightly darker feel than _For Your Entertainment_. The band had agreed that "Better Than I Know Myself" and "Shady" would be on it because the fans had loved the songs while on tour.

Today they were recording a dark themed song. It was something that Serena didn't want to do, she had been 'dark' for way too many weeks. But she knew when she wrote the song, that the day would come when she would have to record it.

"You ready?" Amy asked as Serena took her place at the microphone.

"Yep, let's do it," she replied giving a thumbs up.

"Okay, in 3, 2," Amy mouthed one and the music began.

_Strip away the flesh and bone_   
_Look beyond the lies you've known_   
_Everybody wants to talk about a freak_   
_No one wants to dig that deep_   
_Let me take you underneath_   
_Baby bird watch your step_   
_Never mind what's on the left_   
_You're gonna see things you might not want to see_   
_It's still not that easy for me underneath_   
_A red river of screams_   
_Underneath tears in my eyes_   
_Underneath stars in my black and blue skies_   
_And underneath, under my skin_   
_Underneath the depths of my sin_   
_Look at me, now do you see_   
_Underneath, underneath, underneath_   
_Welcome to my world of truth_   
_I don't wanna hide any part of me from you_   
_I'm standing here with no apologies_   
_Such a beautiful release_   
_You inside of me_

At the end of the song, Serena's throat was raw and she could tell from the looks on her friends' faces that they were concerned she may have gone too far with her vocals. She knew that she had pressed her usual boundaries, but it should all be fine…

Hopefully.

* * *

Day 76

* * *

Beryl stretched like a pleased cat when she woke up that afternoon. The last few days had gone better than she originally planned. When she had gone to Darien's room a few days ago, she had planned on just writing songs with him and getting to know him a little bit better. She had, but she hadn't planned on him inviting her on stage that night to perform with him. The crowd seemed to have enjoyed their dual performance.

That's why it totally shocked her when he had invited her back on stage last night, with a new song that nobody had heard before. She had gotten the idea in her head that it was one of the songs he had been working on during their writing session, and it made her…

Well, it made her somewhat horny. She sighed pleased as she burrowed deeper into her covers that smelled exactly like him. Now, where had he gotten to? She opened her eyes and searched the room to find it empty. Her smile soon turned into a frown. She had heard about this side of him, but she was hoping now that that blonde haired tramp had tamed him he wouldn't go back to his one-nightstand ways. Well, she wasn't going to stand for it. Beryl Thornton was not a one-night stand kind of girl.

She jumped out of bed and found a robe, as she was tying the loop, the bathroom door opened and the man she was looking for stepped out just wearing a towel. She drank him hungrily and forgot all reason why she was mad. She licked her lips and smiled at him.

"Good morning," she purred.

"'Morning," he replied with a smile. "Sleep well?"

"Perfectly."

"Good, the shower is yours," he said. "Any requests for breakfast?"

"Just toast and tea," she replied and walked around him to get to the bathroom where she picked up her cell phone on the way. When she turned it on, she had five missed calls and a text from Sapphire.

**Saw the news, looks like you made your way in. Still going well?**

**Made my way in, in more ways than one. ;) See you when you get back.**

She replied to his message and then went for her shower. She had a feeling that today was going to be a really good day.

* * *

"It's a minor case of vocal strain. The only thing I can recommend is no talking for at least the next forty-eight hours and a lot of fluids," the doctor said as he made a few notes on his chart. "I hope that won't be too much of an issue." He said as he looked at her and her friends.

"Too much of an issue? She _sings_ for a living, this could be really bad," Nick said as he looked back at his friend. Serena had texted them that morning to let them know that she had woken up the day before with a sore throat, and that morning it was so bad that she couldn't even speak without pain.

"Well, as I said, as long as she doesn't cause any further strain to her vocal chords she should be fine." The doctor nodded at everyone in the room before walking out. Once he left the group alone, Nick turned to everyone else.

"This is bad, this is very bad," he said. "Serena, how could you be so stupid to push your limits like this? Especially now, when you're trying to win Darien back?"

Serena sighed and shook her head. The next two days was going to suck, especially if her friends were going to keep lecturing her about her limits. She reached for her phone so she could reply to Nick's questions.

* * *

Darien was surprised that his good mood from the other day was lasting. Usually at this point, something would have happened – a bad writing session, a fight with his band, the media reporting some bull shit – to take him out of his mood. But nothing had happened. If anything, only good things were happening for him now. Serena and him, despite the odds, were friends again. The audiences weren't booing him off the stage, in fact, they were really digging his new single "I Can't Ever Get Enough of You." The song that he had Beryl come out to perform with him last night on stage. And then there was Beryl. He had finally made the move to make her his rebound girl.

He winced as he thought that word. Rebound girl was a horrible way to describe her. There actually might be something more between them other than a rebound. Maybe, he wasn't quite sure yet. But still. All and all it was a good week. Especially right now as he was talking with his fans on Twitter.

**dshieldsgirl: Hey, Darien! Have you heard what's happened to Serena?**

Darien frowned. What happened to Serena? Worst-case scenarios ran through his mind. Alan had found her and raped her again. HT had done something to her. His frown deepened and he replied to his fan.

**darienshields: dshieldsgirl what happened to Serena?**

**dshieldsgirl: darienshields RT: serenaangelx: Looks like I over did it during a rec session. Doc ordered 48 hrs vocal rest. :(**

Darien breathed in a sigh of relief. She wasn't hurt, well, not by another person at least. Vocal strain was a hazard of their business. He sent his friend a quick tweet…

**darienshields: serenaangelx sorry to hear that. Feel better soon!**

**serenaangelx: darienshields Thanks. :)**

* * *

Serena had been shocked to see Darien reply to her tweet about the vocal rest. But she wasn't sure why she should be shocked. He had decided to follow her again on Twitter a few days ago. He was trying to be her friend again, and when friends heard that the other was sick, they gave them well wishes. No big deal. But yet…it _was_ a big deal for her. It meant that her plan was slowly working. The only downside to her plan was that she was expecting a call or text message from Sapphire any second letting her know that he was on to her and that she better stop it now _or else_.

But nothing had come yet, which made her worry. She sighed and put down her phone. What was there to worry about? It was one tweet. It wasn't like they were about to start a conversation or anything.

Her phone buzzed and her heart went into her throat. _Here we go_ …she thought as she picked it up.

**Wow. Just a one-word reply? I really rate. :) lol. Jk. How's the patient?**

Her eyebrows went up. It was a text from Darien. She hadn't been expecting that, but the text made her smile. It reminded her of how they used to be.

**Hey, I have to be careful with what I say on Twitter. I'm doing okay, just bummed that I'm out of commission for the next couple of days.**

**It will fly by before you know it. What did you do though that strained your chords?**

**Took it a little too far during a recording session.**

**Can I hear the new song?**

**Maybe at the TCA's. ;)**

**Ooh, I'm intrigued. What's it about?**

Serena bit her lip. How could she answer that without making things incredibly awkward or him asking questions that she couldn't answer just yet? She typed an answer that she hoped would suffice.

* * *

**About everything that's happened.**

Her response shocked him. There was so many ways that he wanted to respond to that, but he was afraid that it would make things awkward. He could tell from the time that it took her to reply to him that she didn't know how to answer his question without causing the same thing. He sighed.

**I really want to hear it soon.**

**You will. I promise.**

He chuckled. That was something at least. He put down his phone, feeling that it was best to leave their conversation there. But as soon as he got up, his phone buzzed again. Serena had sent him another message.

**Are you coming to the TCA's?**

**Yeah, I'm even performing. Why?**

**Just wondering.**

This made him curious, and a realization hit him. If they were both performing at the TCAs, they were both going to be practicing for their set. Practices were usually really top secret and covered so that the media couldn't spoil who was going to be on. He had a brainstorm.

**When is your practice session for the show?**

**In five days. It was supposed to be in 2 but because of my vocal strain… why?**

**Think I can sneak in?**

**I can always put you on my list. Again, why?**

**We need to talk.**

* * *

Serena sat back in shock. Well, wasn't that something. Their conversation had turned from fun and playful, to serious and 'we need to talk,' in almost five minutes. What was he up to?

**Ok. I'll see you in five days.**

* * *

Beryl was losing her mind, as she read the text message that Serena had just sent to Darien. How dare that bitch. She knew that girl was up to something, and she was right! But why had Darien instigated this? What did he hope to talk to her about? Beryl grinded her teeth together as she tried to figure out how this was going to effect her plan.

She sighed as she came up with nothing.

A knock on her door had her turning off her phone to hide the evidence that she was spying on Darien. It wouldn't do for him or his band mates to see the text messages she had bugged off his phone. She didn't want to be seen as a crazy bitch…

She opened the door and was shocked to find Darien there.

"Darien!" She exclaimed with a smile. "Well, this is a surprise. What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk," he said with a stern face. "Can I come in?"

* * *

Day 80

* * *

Serena was on cloud nine. She had woken up that morning without any pain in her throat, and today ended her 48 hours of vocal rest. She could talk today, and yes, when she had first opened her mouth to thank a deliveryman, it had sounded a little hoarse, but it was only from lack of use. Now that it was later on in the afternoon, she was back to her old voice.

The other reason for her happy mood? It was because of the delivery that she accepted that morning. A vase of a dozen red roses from…Darien. She had been shocked when she saw them when she opened her door for the deliveryman. She hadn't gotten roses from him since they had been fighting the first time over two months ago. She was especially excited by the color of the roses. They were red! Red meant romance. These were _not_ roses you sent your friend. Her plan was working! And she couldn't wait to talk to him tomorrow. Maybe things would go back to how they were. Maybe Beryl hadn't gotten her claws into him yet…

* * *

Beryl took a hefty swig of water after her set. She had to hurry and get herself together before she went back out there to perform with Darien. They were going to be performing two songs together tonight. _Two songs_! She couldn't believe it. When he had come to her room a few days ago with that whole "we need to talk" serious tone, she thought for sure he was going to tell her that the night they had spent together could only be one night.

But it had been the opposite. He said that he really liked her, but because of everything that had been going on with Serena he wanted to take things slow. And, shockingly he told her about talking to Serena, that he wanted her to come with him tomorrow when he went to talk to her. He thought they should be the ones to tell her that they were dating, instead of her finding out in the press. After she agreed and he left, she had shrieked in celebration. Her plan was working. That bitch was about to get the shock of her life.

* * *

Day 81

* * *

Serena was so excited when she got to the venue where the Teen Choice Awards practice was going to be, that the security guard laughed at her as he let her into the building. Today was the day where everything that went wrong over the last few weeks was hopefully going to be righted. She danced up the stage and was shocked to see her band and HT have such grim expressions on their faces.

"What's wrong, guys?" She asked instantly concerned. The last time she had seen their expressions look this grim it was because Alan had filed a wrongful imprisonment lawsuit against her.

"Nothing is wrong," Lita said exchanging looks with everyone else. "We're just worried about our performance tomorrow. You realize we can get into some big trouble because of some of the lyrics in this song?"

"They're not all bad," Serena replied a wash of relief going over her. That was all they were worried about? Some racy lyrics? That was nothing. "The first part of the song was worse."

"She's right," HT chimed in. "It was, and like I told the execs I'll tone it down for the performance. Performers do it all the time for live TV."

"Well, if you say so," Lita sighed. "So, are you guys ready to do this?"

"I've been born ready," Serena replied as she went to the microphone.

* * *

Darien was afraid that they were going to be late as he and Beryl dashed up to the door. The security guard was shocked.

"Um…can I help you?" He asked.

"Darien Shields," he automatically replied. The guard nodded his head and let them into the building. The beginning notes of Serena's song greeted them and he pulled Beryl quickly into the building. They wandered further in and found seats as Serena began to sing.

_On the first page of our story_   
_The future seemed so bright_   
_Then this thing turned out so evil_   
_I don't know why I'm still surprised_   
_Even angels have their wicked schemes_   
_And you take that to new extremes_   
_But you'll always be my hero_   
_Even though you've lost your mind_   
_Just gonna stand there and watch me burn_   
_But that's all right because I like the way it hurts_   
_Just gonna stand there and hear me cry_   
_But that's all right because I love the way you lie_   
_Now there's gravel in our voices_   
_Glasses shattered on the fire_   
_In this tug of war you'll always win_   
_Even when I'm right_   
_'Cause you feed me fables from your head_   
_With violent words and empty threats_   
_And it's sick that all these battles_   
_Are what keeps me satisfied_   
_Just gonna stand there and watch me burn_   
_But that's all right because I like the way it hurts_   
_Just gonna stand there and hear me cry_   
_But that's all right because I love the way you lie_   
_I love the way you lie_   
_So maybe I'm a masochist_   
_I try to run_   
_But I don't wanna ever leave_   
_'til the walls are going up_   
_In smoke with all our memories_   
_This morning, you wake, a sunray hits your face_   
_Smeared makeup as we lay in the wake of destruction_   
_Hush baby speak softly, tell me I'll be sorry_   
_That you pushed me into the coffee table last night_   
_So I can push you off me_   
_Try and touch me so I can scream at you not to touch me_   
_Run out of the room and I'll follow you like a lost puppy_   
_Baby, without you, I'm noting, I'm so lost hug m_   
_Then tell me how ugly I am but that you'll always love me_   
_Then after that, shove me, in the aftermath of the_   
_Destructive path that we're on, two psychopaths but we_   
_Know that no matter how many knives we put in each others backs_   
_That we'll have each other's backs 'cause we're that lucky_   
_Together we move mountains, let's not make mountains out of molehills_   
_You hit me twice, yeah, but who's countin'?_   
_I may have hit you three times, I'm starting to lose count_   
_But together, we'll live forever, we found the youth fountain_   
_Our love is crazy, we're nuts, but I refuse counselin'_   
_This house is too huge, if you move out I'll burn all two thousand_   
_Square feet of it to the ground, ain't shit you can do about it_   
_With you I'm in my fuckin' mind, without you, I'm out of it_

The music stopped and Lita turned to HT.

"I thought you were going to clean up the lyrics?" She asked him.

"Oops, sorry, I forgot," HT replied smiling sheepishly.

"Yeah, well, tell the execs that when we're live tomorrow and you have to pay a fine!" The brunette exclaimed in exasperation. Darien chose this moment to approach the stage.

"Hey guys," he said drawing their attention to him. Serena smiled at him, as soon as her eyes landed on him.

"Hey, Darien," she replied and jumped off the stage to approach him. There was a slight hesitation from them, but it only lasted a moment before Darien took her in for a hug.

"Good to see you, Serena," he said as he let her go. He took in her appearance and smiled. "Your hair is longer and it's blonde!"

"Yeah, the dye finally washed out a few weeks ago."

"As I said at the beginning of the tour, I like it blonde."

Serena blushed and was about to say something, when someone behind him cleared their throat. He turned around and the woman she had seen on that YouTube video from so many weeks ago appeared. _Beryl_ , she thought and her good mood vanished. This could not be good.

"Oh, right," he said. "Beryl, this is Serena, Serena this is Beryl the new opening act on the tour and…"

"And?" Serena prompted him, knowing and dreading what was going to come next.

"And my new girlfriend," he replied not meeting her eyes. This was harder for him than he thought it was going to be. "I wanted you to hear it from me before the press got wind of it."

"Wow," she said trying to keep her emotions in check. "Well, congratulations." She didn't know what else to say as she looked at Beryl who was smiling a treacherous smile as if daring her to tell him what she knew about the woman. But she wasn't going to rise up and take the challenge. She saw the movies and TV shows that had a situation like this, the other woman lost her cool and blew everything up. Serena knew better than to do that. For one thing, she doubted that Darien would believe her. But that didn't mean that she was going to let Beryl win. This just added another part to her plan. The part that she had planned for, but hoped not to use.

Part D.

* * *

Darien and Beryl left fifteen minutes later and Serena collapsed into a chair. She then looked up at her friends and said very quietly.

"You knew."

They didn't even bother to deny it, which she almost laughed at. It was probably smart of them not to deny it anyway. She thought it had been suspicious that they would be that concerned about some racy lyrics, but now, she knew better. They had somehow known that Darien and Beryl were a couple.

"How?" She asked.

Nick sighed and looked at Paul, "You might as well show her."

He nodded and handed her his iPad where a video was cued up. It was from a concert that Darien had had last night. Beryl was with him on stage and they were performing a song that sounded familiar to her. She just didn't know how.

_I know that I have only ever held you hand_   
_But just one touch is more than enough to understand_   
_There's a master plan_   
_And I know that I don't believe in destiny_   
_But maybe it's found me_

Her stomach twisted and she felt acid coming up her throat. Now she knew why it sounded familiar. This was _their_ song. The song that Darien and her had worked on together, what felt like a year ago. How dare he? How dare he sing that song with that bitch? The anger boiled in her veins. She was furious and she knew just how she wanted to handle this.

"We aren't going to sing the second part of 'Love the Way You Lie' tomorrow," she said as she stood up.

"We're not?" HT asked surprised. Nick, Paul and Lita exchanged looks. They had a bad feeling that they knew what was coming.

"No," she replied. "We're going to write a new song."

"We?"

"You and me," she pointed to HT. "And forget what we've been saying about the racy language. We're throwing out all the rules for this one."


	16. TCA's (Day 82): Why We Can't Be Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Sailor Moon! I do not own any celebrities mentioned in this chapter – not that there's many – and I also don't own the song "Payphone" by Maroon5. Now, on with the chapter!

Used coffee cups and crumpled balls of paper littered the floor of the recording studio. HT and Serena had been working all night on the new song that was going to break all the rules. It was a dangerous thing to do, because she knew that she could possibly alienate Darien and not to mention, Sapphire would definitely make due on his threat. This song could change everything. She could lose everything.

As she read over the lyrics that made up HT's part, she changed her mind. She was _definitely_ going to lose everything. She sighed and put her head on her crossed arms, still staring at the yellow pad in front of her. Did she really want to do this? Was her anger and hurt really worth losing Darien again? Losing her singing career? A few hours ago, she would have said yes. But that was a few hours ago, when her rage over seeing Beryl with Darien and them singing the song that Serena had wrote with him was still running hot in her veins. Now? She wasn't so sure.

"You look stressed out," HT commented as he walked back into the room carrying another two cups of coffee. "Is there something wrong with the song?"

"No," she replied. "It's perfect, but…"

"Oh thank god. I was hoping there was going to be a but."

"You were?"

"Yes," he said handing her a cup of coffee. "Look, Serena, as much as I love what we came up with here, I'm not sure if you should perform it. I get that you're angry, but from what you've told me, this song could get you into a lot of trouble. Is getting revenge on Darien and Beryl really worth it?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking," she sighed again and took a sip of her coffee. "You know, Darien had the decency to talk to me about Beryl and him starting a relationship, so why can't I talk to him about it?"

"And have the song as backup?"

"Yeah, even though I hope I don't have to use it," she took another sip of coffee. She was going to talk to Darien about how much seeing Darien and Beryl perform that song together hurt her. It was _their_ song. They had written it together. Even though things between them hadn't gone well, he should have at least asked her if he could sing the song with someone else. And then there was the issue of him dating Beryl. Didn't he find it interesting that Beryl was Sapphire's sister? That he seemed to be developing a habit of dating his opening act?

"This would be so much easier if I could tell him everything," she whispered.

"Why can't you?" HT asked.

"Because Sapphire manipulated it so I can't. If I try to tell Darien the truth, Sapphire will take away my career. And even if I told him, he wouldn't believe me, not after what he thought he saw at that hotel between Sapphire and me."

"But I thought that was the whole point into becoming his friend again? So that way he would believe you that nothing happened between you and Sapphire?"

"Yes, that was the point, but I thought I was going to have more time."

"More time?"

"Yeah, I didn't think he would start dating Beryl right away, and the longer I was just his friend, the longer I had to regain his trust, so that way when he _did_ start dating her I could tell him everything and he would believe me more as his friend than the jealous ex-girlfriend."

"But instead, he started dating her right away."

"Exactly," she groaned. "So Plan C basically is bust."

"Why though?" HT asked. "With Darien dating her so quickly, I doubt that relationship will last. He's using her as a rebound; he's not going to marry her. So technically there goes Sapphire's plan of Hollywood domination."

Serena opened her mouth to counter his argument, but she closed it right away as she thought it over. Darien _had_ started dating Beryl right away, which made her his rebound girl, the girl he wouldn't want to be serious with. Sapphire had pushed things too hard and quickly.

"You're right," she said. "Which means that I really need to talk to Darien. Hope you're okay with performing part two even though we spent all night writing this one." She lifted up the yellow pad to emphasize her point.

"Hey, I'm happy to perform either," HT laughed. "Just as long as you think it's the right one."

"Yeah, well, we'll see, won't we?"

* * *

Beryl woke up the morning of the Teen Choice Awards with a big smile on her face. The reason for her smile was simple. She was finally winning. The look on that blonde bitch's face when she had seen Beryl with Darien yesterday was priceless. She looked shocked, angry, and heartbroken. And that's the one that made the auburn-haired woman smile the most.

Despite Serena's attempts to prove that she didn't care about Darien, that one look proved otherwise. It also proved that Beryl was winning.

"You look cheerful this morning," Darien commented as he walked into the bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. She turned and gave him the biggest smile. It wasn't the first time that she had gotten to see this view, and she was sure – now that Serena knew about them – that it wouldn't be the last time, _especially_ because she loved it.

"It's the TCA's tonight," she replied after taking in the view for a few moments. "I always love award shows, the dressing up, the red carpet…you coming out of the bathroom looking like that." Her eyes darted again to the towel before slowly raking back up his naked torso and to his awaiting crooked grin.

"Well, I'm not sure, what me looking like this has to do with the TCA's, but I guess I'll take that as a complement?" He chuckled. "The shower is all yours."

"Aw," she pouted. "I was hoping that you would join me."

"As you can see I already took my shower, and I have errands I need to take care of before the awards tonight. So enjoy yourself, and I'll see you in a few hours." He turned away from her and towards the closet to look for something to wear. It was because he wasn't looking at her that he didn't see the anger that crossed over her face. Was he seriously blowing her off with some lame excuse about running errands before the awards? What _possible_ errands could he have to run? It wasn't like he needed to go out and make sure his tux for the night fit. This wasn't the Grammy's; this was just the Teen Choice Awards where even board shorts were appropriate for guys. Something was going on that he wasn't telling her about, and she needed to know what that was.

It wasn't because she was insecure; it was because she didn't trust Darien – not with Serena in the same goddamn city as they were. For all Beryl knew, he was running off to meet Serena, to maybe even rekindle the romance that had been cut short by her brother. Her eyes narrowed at the prospect and she ducked into the bathroom with her cell phone again. She needed help to keep an eye on him, and she knew just the person to call.

* * *

_**From The Stalkerazi Webpage** _

**PLAYBOY DARIEN SHIELDS READY TO SETTLE DOWN?**

_Thanks to an anonymous tip this morning, I was able to follow the famous playboy Darien Shields as he ran numerous errands around town before the big award show tonight. I was shocked to even learn that the star did his own errands! Doesn't he have an entourage to do this for him?_

_But at our first stop of the afternoon, I understood why he did this himself! He went to a jewelry store! And walked out with what appeared to be a ring box! Now, I'm usually not a person who likes to assume things like the other gossip rags do, but I can't help but think that Darien might be proposing to his current girlfriend Beryl. And I already know what you guys are going to say, if that's the case than you need more proof and I do have it!_

_His other stop of the afternoon was to a local outdoor café where he met his former girlfriend Serena London, the lead singer of Beautiful Angels Go to Hell. As you all remember, these two had quite the torrid love affair until it all ended abruptly and mysteriously more than halfway through the tour. Many speculated that their relationship had ended because Darien had found Serena cheating on him with his manager Sapphire but neither camp confirmed the rumor._

_Now why would Darien be having lunch with his ex if it wasn't because he was looking for her approval? Let us know what you think!_

**COMMENTS:**

**BAGTHLUVER: Oh no! I hope this isn't true! Darien and Serena are meant to be with each other! Not Darien and Beryl! She isn't good for him!**

**DAREANDSERE: Nooooo! This isn't true at all! Darien and Serena are friends now, but I doubt that they are that close where he would ask for her approval. And why would he need it?**

**BERYLROXS: Ooh! I hope this is true! Darien and Beryl are so perfect for each other! They are both amazing singers and despite what BAGTHLUVER said up there, she is good for him. Better than Serena ever was.**

* * *

Serena had been a coward. She had been surprised when Darien had called her for lunch that morning, but she had been happy too. She really needed to talk to him and tell him things that she should have told him ages ago – consequences be damned. But when she had sat down at the outdoor table and he had smiled at her, she had chickened out. How could she tell him that everything that he knew was a total and complete lie? And how could she tell them that when they were in a public place? She knew that if she had, he would have had an episode that most likely would have ended with him screaming and stalking away from her. She didn't need that to happen when a paparazzi reporter was already following him.

So instead of her telling him how much seeing him perform their song with Beryl had hurt her, they talked about the upcoming award show that night instead. She had confessed that she was nervous about performing and he had laughed at her.

"Why?" He asked. "It's basically the same thing that you were doing on the tour for two months, only instead of just being a live audience of your fans, there will be other celebrities there, and you might win an award."

She smiled at that, "Please, that's what I'm worried about! Meeting all these different celebrities and winning an award. I can just see making a fool of myself or even tripping up the stairs or something."

The conversation had flowed after that, but as they got up to leave, Darien had gotten a look in his eye and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something. But just as quickly as he opened his mouth, he closed it thinking better of whatever it was that he was going to say. Now, she was sitting in her apartment waiting for her band and HT to show up. They were going to go to the show together, and she knew that they were also probably really curious to know what song she had decided on for the night's performance.

The problem was was that she still didn't know…

* * *

Darien had been a coward and in more than one-way. It had started at the jewelry store. He had gotten a call the night before telling him that the order he had placed was ready for pick up. It had taken him a moment to figure out what they had meant. He didn't remember placing an order at the store, until it all came crashing down on him. He hadn't been joking when he had told Serena all those weeks ago that he had thought that she had been the one. He had been so sure, he had special ordered and designed a ring for her. He was going to propose to her this weekend at the Teen Choice Awards until everything had happened.

He went to the store to sell back the ring, because now with everything that had transpired between them he obviously didn't need the ring anymore. He was with Beryl now. But when he had gotten there, the salesman had been so excited to show him the ring that he had looked at it and knew that he couldn't return it. He didn't know what he was going to do with it, because on the inside of the ring the initials S.L. were engraved - a ring for Serena, but he couldn't bare to have it sold.

On his way to the café to meet with Serena for lunch he thought that he could give it to her as a memory from their tour, but knew that that wasn't an option either. She had enough memories of that tour; she didn't need one more – especially one that looked like an engagement ring. He was the first one to arrive and he chose a table outside, to soak in the LA sun and his fingers tapped on his pocket where the ring was located. He was still thinking about what to do with the ring, when Serena showed up.

He shot her a blinding smile, and as she sat down he chickened out again. He was going to talk to her about what had really happened those last few weeks on the tour. Had she really cheated on him? What did her letter mean? But he couldn't do it. They were having a nice lunch, like friends were supposed to, and he didn't want to ruin it by bringing up the past. When she had brought up her nervousness about performing at the show tonight, he had laughed at her. She was the strongest woman he knew; there was no way that Serena could get nervous. She was going to do just fine.

When they had gotten up to leave, Darien thought about giving her the ring again, but he thought better of it. He noticed someone who looked awfully familiar at the corner of his mind and he knew that if he gave her the ring, it would be all over the Internet within seconds. No, it was better to hold onto it.

He was staring at it now, as Beryl got ready for the TCAs. The diamond in the center glittered in the fading sunlight as he kept staring at what might have been.

* * *

Beryl had finished getting ready for the TCAs twenty minutes ago, now she was staring at her phone at the text message her informant had sent her. She wasn't ashamed that she had sent a member of the paparazzi to stalk her boyfriend. No, if anything, she was overjoyed! The move had been a risky one, she would admit that much, but it had paid off. She now knew that Darien was thinking of proposing to her if the article she was reading was any indication. She tried to contain the squeal, but a little one did escape from her mouth. She was so excited that she didn't even mind that Darien had met with Serena for a lunch that he hadn't told her about.

If what she was reading was true, Serena was about to be out of their lives forever. Beryl was going to win.

* * *

Serena was surprised when she opened the door to find not only her band and HT, but also Darien's band were standing at the threshold. She stared at everyone and then stared down at herself. They were all dressed in summer dressy casual, while she was just a total slob. She sighed and opened the door wider.

"Come on in," she said as she backed away from the door. "It looks like I need to change. Mina, would you mind helping me?" The other blonde followed her with pep in her step – she loved playing in other people's closets. She walked into her bedroom and let the other blonde start rustling in her closet throwing items out onto her bed. After going through all her clothes, Mina went to the bed and started perusing through those. She picked out a plain black tank top and threw it at Serena who caught it in her arms. Next, she threw her another black tank top only this one was billowy and had rhinestone angel wings on the front. The last item Mina threw at her was a pair of destroyed light washed jean capris.

"Are you sure about this?" Serena asked.

"Serena," she responded with a stern look in her eyes. She just shook her head and approached her jewelry counter, sorting through the different pieces. Serena shook her head, of course. She shouldn't have doubted the fashion goddess. She threw off her ripped t-shirt and threw on the plain black tank top then the billowy one. She stripped off her ratty jean shorts and put on the destroyed capris in their place. When she looked in the mirror, her eyes met with Mina's and she nodded in approval.

She handed her some jewelry a black beaded multi-twist bracelet, a pair of angel wing earrings, and several rings for her fingers. She then ushered for Serena to take off her guitar pick necklace – the one that Darien had given her on the tour – with a great reluctance she did. Mina unclasped the chain and pulled the guitar pick off of it. She then put the guitar pick on a black chord that she handed to Serena. She put it around her neck and made a double knot to secure it there with no chance that it would fall off.

"Now about your hair," Mina said.

"Be careful," Serena replied. "You know how much of a sore subject my hair has been lately."

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing," she said with a gleam in her eye and a pair of scissors in her hand.

* * *

Darien and Beryl were posing for pictures on the red carpet when the paparazzi got even more excited than they should have. The fans that were waiting outside were also screaming a little bit louder than usual too.

"Someone important must have shown up," Beryl whispered to Darien as they smiled for the remaining cameras. He nodded and looked back and felt his mouth pop open in shock. Serena was making her way down the red carpet, but she looked totally different from the last time that he had seen her that afternoon. The Serena he saw walking down the red carpet looked like the rock star that he knew her to be. Her hair had been cut again, but not as severe as the last time. It still was down to just past her shoulders, but there were choppy layers and her bangs…whoa. He couldn't help but think.

She stopped to do a few interviews and she was smiling. _This_ was the Serena he had come to know on the tour, not the one he had seen the last few weeks of it. He smiled and turned to enter the venue with Beryl when his publicist – Michelle – pulled him aside and whispered into his ear, "Hang back, there's a reporter from EW who would like to do a quick interview with you _and_ Serena." He stepped back amazed before he nodded his head and then ushered for Beryl to continue on without him.

* * *

Serena's cheeks were sore from all the smiling that she was doing for the cameras when she noticed Darien standing near the entrance as if he was waiting for her. She laughed quietly knowing that in a way he _was_ waiting for her. Her publicist had told her about the joint interview that EW had wanted to do, and she had tried to keep her excitement in check as she made her way down the red carpet. It was just an interview – her first joint interview with Darien since the day they had come out as a couple. When she finally made her way to his side, she let out a small sigh of relief one that he caught.

"Exhausted?" He asked with a smile on his face.

"Yes," she replied. "Is it normal to have sore cheeks from smiling so much?"

"Definitely," he laughed. Their people ushered them into a room that was just off the entrance where there were three chairs and a man who looked up at their entrance. He smiled and made his way towards them with an outstretched hand.

"Hello, hello. I'm Owen from EW," he said and shook each of their hands. "I'm so glad that you're taking the time to talk to me. I promise I won't hold you long, I know you both have performances to prepare for." He ushered them to the chairs and Serena sat down in relief. Even though her high-heeled wedges matched her outfit perfectly they were such a pain to walk in. She was seriously considering doing her performance barefoot.

"So my first question is how are the two of you doing?" The interviewer asked snapping her back to the present and away from the issue of her sore feet. "I know the last couple of weeks were particularly hard – Serena's supposed cheating scandal, leaving the tour, and then your war of words on Twitter. So, how are things between the two of you now?"

Darien and Serena exchanged a looked before she answered, "Things were definitely rocky there for a while, and a lot of that was probably my fault, but after we had time away from each other, time to heal, we're back to where we were when the tour first started. We're friends."

Darien nodded. "The best of friends."

"Wow, that's amazing that you two can be friends considering everything you went through… but Darien, I have to ask, because you're in a new relationship with your new opening act, Beryl, is there tension there? Is she okay with the fact that you're friends with your ex?"

"Honestly? I'm not sure," Darien murmured. "It hasn't been too much of an issue between the two of us, because we've been on tour. But when we came back to the city for the TCAs and I told her that I was coming to Serena's practice to talk to her, she was okay with it. Of course, she came with me, but I figured it be best to introduce the two of them away from the public eye."

"No surprise meetings," Serena said her face showing nothing, even though on the inside she was screaming.

"So Serena, now that the whole drama with Alan is over, when can the fans expect the new album? I know they are absolutely dying to hear something new ever since you leaked 'Love the Way You Lie' last week. You are performing the teased second part tonight, right?"

She giggled, "That's a lot of questions, Owen. But first off, I'm in the studio now recording the new album, and I can't really say when it's going to come out, but I'm trying my best to record as fast as I can to get out to the fans. Next the teased second part of the song 'Love the Way You Lie' will be performed tonight."

"Awesome! Last question is for Darien," Owen said. "As I mentioned earlier you've been dating your opening act Beryl for the last few weeks, and people want to know if things are getting serious between the two of you? Is there a possibility of wedding bells in your future?"

Serena was biting her lip as she waited for Darien to answer that question, hoping that he was going to say no, or at least laugh it off as you were supposed to do in interviews. Darien opened his mouth, "Well, I wouldn't say we were _that_ serious, but it's only been a few weeks. Who knows what could happen a few months from now?"

* * *

She didn't remember how she got to her seat, but she had and her band was looking at her with worried expressions. She still hadn't decided yet on what song that they were going to do that night for their performance. She had told the interviewer from EW that she was going to do the second part of Love the Way You Lie, but after what Darien had said? She wasn't so sure. She was angry. If he had intended to get _that_ serious with Beryl why hadn't he mentioned it when they had gone to lunch that afternoon? It didn't make any sense…

"Serena?" HT asked from her left. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm not sure," she replied. "I just got out of an interview with Darien and…" they moved in closer. "He said that things between Beryl and him weren't that serious, but who knows what could happen in a few months from now?"

"He said that?" Lita asked alarmed.

"Isn't that the same thing he said…" Paul trailed off and exchanged looks with everyone else. Serena's head popped up and looked at him.

"The same thing he said about what? Finish your sentence, Paul."

"Well, uh, when the tour started, when Mario Lopez asked him about what was going on between the two of you, he said nothing but with being on the road for three months anything could happen."

Serena remembered that interview and her cheeks heated up as a pair of celebrity announcers announced the winner for Teen Choice TV Actor. How could he say the same exact thing about her as he had said about Beryl? It had to be a coincidence it just had to be…

"Guys, what are the chances that he even remembers what he said to Mario Lopez two months ago?" Nick said trying to be the voice of sanity in the group. "It was probably just a coincidence."

HT's phone beeped and he took it out of his pocket. He was reading something when he looked up and directly at Serena. "It doesn't look that way," he said and passed her the phone. She took it with a hesitant hand, the last time someone had passed her a phone it was to see Darien perform _their_ song with Beryl, and from the way HT was looking at her she knew that it couldn't be anything good. As she read the gossip blog article, her temper flared around her.

This was definitely not good at all.

* * *

Darien was backstage preparing for his performance when they began to announce the award for Teen Choice New Artist. He hung out by the TV watching, and winced when he heard Beautiful Angels Go to Hell was a nominee in the category, against the others, they didn't really have a chance.

"And the winner is…" The celebrity announcer paused as he opened the envelope. "Well, this is unexpected, the winner is Beautiful Angels Go to Hell!" The audience screamed and Darien stood backstage floored. That was definitely unexpected.

Serena and her band mates walked up on stage and accepted the large surfboard from the celebrity announcer. She turned to the audience and the microphone and stared at all of them with tears in her eyes.

"Okay, first all, major thanks to all the teenagers out there who voted for us to win this award," she said. "You guys rock and have no idea how much this means to all of us. We wouldn't be here without your support and love. Finally, before they kick me off the stage here, a big thanks to my friend, Darien Shields for giving us a shot at the big time. You rock!" She turned away from the microphone and with her band made her way backstage.

"Dude, this surf board is insane," Paul said. "I feel like I'm going to knock someone out with it if I turn the wrong way."

"Then be careful where you walk," Serena replied with a giggle that died on her lips when her eyes met Darien's. He smiled and gave her a thumbs up before he walked out onto the stage to start his performance. Her band and HT surrounded her to make sure she was all right.

"Sere, are you sure you want to do this?" Lita asked. "It's still not too late to back out and do what we had originally planned."

"No," she replied. "We're going to do this, even though it means I might lose everything."

* * *

Darien was still exhausted from his performance, even though it had been over ten minutes ago. It didn't help that he hadn't been able to catch his breath at the end of it because he had been awarded the Teen Choice Award for Best Male Pop Artist. He was sitting in his seat now, finally regaining his breath, and Beryl was clapping along with the crowd as one of her favorite celebrities – or so she had told him – came on stage to announce the next performer.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this next band has a Cinderella story for the ages. They came to LA two years ago to start their music career, and got their big shot at fame when they were hand picked to open for Darien Shields this summer. Although, they had to leave the tour, it still hasn't stopped you guys from voting them the Teen Choice New Artist, and here to perform the highly anticipated follow up to Love the Way You Lie, please welcome to the stage Beautiful Angels Go to Hell with HT!" The crowd erupted and Serena and her band appeared on stage. However, there was no sign of HT.

Serena approached the microphone, "I know how much you guys were looking forward to hearing the second part of Love the Way You Lie, but unfortunately, there's been a change of plans. Instead, I'm going to perform a song called 'Payphone' I hope you guys like it."

The music began.

_I'm at a payphone trying to call home_   
_All of my change I've spent on you_   
_Where have the times gone, baby it's all wrong_   
_Where are the plans we made for two?_   
_Yeah_   
_I know it's hard to remember the people we used to be_   
_It's even harder to picture that you're not here next to me_   
_You say it's too late to make it_   
_But is it too late to try?_   
_And in the time that you wasted all of our bridges burn down_   
_I've wasted my nights_   
_You turned out the lights_   
_Now I'm paralyzed_   
_Still stuck in that time when we called it love_   
_But even the sun sets in paradise_   
_I'm at a payphone trying to call home_   
_All of my change I've spent on you_   
_Where have the times gone, baby it's all wrong_   
_Where are the plans we made for two?_   
_If happy ever after did exist_   
_I would still be holding you like this_   
_And all these fairy tales are full of it_   
_One more stupid love song I'll be sick_   
_Oh, you turned your back on tomorrow_   
_'Cause you forgot yesterday_   
_I gave you my heart to borrow_   
_But you just gave it away_   
_You can't expect me to be fine_   
_I don't expect you to care_   
_I know I said it before but_   
_All of our bridges burned down_   
_I've wasted my nights_   
_You turned out the lights_   
_Now I'm paralyzed_   
_Still stuck in that time when we called it love_   
_But even the sun sets in paradise_   
_I'm at a payphone trying to call home_   
_All of my change I've spent on you_   
_Where have the times gone baby it's all wrong_   
_Where are the plans we made for two?_   
_If happy ever after did exist_   
_I would still be holding you like this_   
_And all those fairy tales are full of it_   
_One more stupid love song I'll be sick_

HT appeared, but not on stage. He was in the audience making his way towards where the celebrities were sitting.

_Man fuck that shit I'll be spending all this money_   
_While you're sittin' round wondering why it wasn't you who came up_   
_From nothin'_   
_Made it from the bottom now when you see me I'm stuntin'_   
_And all of my cars start with a push of a button_   
_Telling me I changed since I blew up or whatever you call it_   
_Switch the number to my phone so you never could call it_   
_Don't need my name on my shirt you can tell them that I'm ballin'_   
_Swish, what a shame could of got picked_   
_Had a really good game but you missed your last shot_   
_So you talk about who you see at the top or what you_   
_Could have saw but sad to say it's over for_   
_Phantom pulled up valet open doors_   
_Wished I'd go away got what you was looking for_   
_Now it's me who they want_   
_So you can go and take that little piece of shit with you_

Up on stage, Serena was frozen. She hadn't expected HT to be in the crowd and make his way towards where Beryl and Darien were sitting. When he reached them, he rapped the last four lines and the crowd hushed for a second before they began screaming and turned back to Serena expectantly. She could read it in Darien's face already, she was in _major_ trouble, but the show must go on.

_I'm at a payphone trying to call home_   
_All of my change I've spent on you_   
_Where have the times gone baby it's all wrong_   
_Where are the plans we made for two?_   
_If happy ever after did exist_   
_I would still be holding you like this_

She paused and thought, what the hell? HT had already caused the censors to go crazy, and she was throwing it all away anyway.

_And all those fairy tales are full of shit  
One more fucking love song I'll be sick_

And with that her performance ended, and Serena walked off the stage with a shocked audience staring after her.


	17. Days 82-89: I'm Giving Up on You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do NOT own Sailor Moon. I do NOT own the songs "Break Me Shake Me" by Savage Garden, "Take Back" by Adam Lambert, "The Monster" by Eminem featuring Rihanna, "Just a Fool" by Christina Aguilera featuring Blake Shelton, and "Say Something" by A Great Big World featuring Christina Aguilera. I wish I did. Also, according to fanfiction guidelines I can't use celebrities in my story – but uh…I did anyway – so I don't own them either and everything they say is based on watching them for years.

Serena didn't have much time to herself, as she left the stage to go to her dressing room after her performance. Even though the crowd outside had gone silent from shock, the crowd backstage was in an uproar. Her publicist was already screaming at her and ushering her quickly into her dressing room as a man in a suit came barreling down at her with a pinched and red face. It was probably one of the network executives, and man, did he look _pissed_. As soon as the door closed, a quiet descended on the group inside, until the executive started screaming.

"What the hell was that?" He exclaimed his eyes bulging from his eye sockets. "I thought you were going to perform the second part of Love the Way You Lie? You know the song where you don't swear at all?"

Serena shrugged, "I changed my mind."

"Well, your change of mind is going to cost you. BIG."

She looked at him with a cool glance, she knew that this was going to happen, and she really could care less. Darien had hurt her, and she had finally gotten some sort of revenge on Beryl – the bitch from hell – and it felt _good_. Not to mention that no matter what this asshole thought, that performance had been one of her best since she had left the tour.

"At least, 50 from the FCC, and you'll be lucky if you ever perform on live national television again," he said, but she just looked at him with bland interest. He left the room in a huff and her publicist was next.

"What were you thinking? Do you know how much of a shit pile you've created for me here? I was finally, _finally_ getting your reputation back into good graces after that cheating scandal and you basically just threw all my work into the garbage."

"I know," she said softly, actually feeling for her publicist, she didn't deserve what Serena was doing to her. "And I'm sorry for that, but I'm afraid that there is going to be more drama to come Tell me now if you can handle it, because if you can't…"

"Oh please," her publicist scoffed. "I was trained for this. Just warn me next time, okay?" She left the room too, and Serena looked at everyone in her band.

"Well, that wasn't too bad, was it?" She asked and shook her head as she sat down on the couch. She didn't know why she was sticking around, though, because she knew that after that performance she was going to be receiving a visit from a certain pop star very soon...

He didn't disappoint. A few minutes later he stormed into her dressing room, and everyone in the room froze. They had never seen him this angry before. His hands were clenched into fists and his face was pinched. Serena took a deep breath and waited for him to start yelling at them. But he surprised her when he signaled for everyone but her to get out of the room. She would have thought that he would have at least told HT to stay too, but with reluctant glances her way her band and HT left the room. When the door closed he let loose.

"What the fuck was that?" His voice boomed. "Do you have any idea what this stupid ass stunt of yours has done? Beryl is in tears; the media is swarming around the building…" he took a deep breath. "I don't know what you were thinking. Why didn't you tell me that you were going to perform a song like that? I thought we were friends, Serena."

She had been silent until he said that. She snorted, "Right, we're friends, Darien. Friends who don't have to tell each other everything apparently."

"What are you talking about?" He asked exasperated. He had calmed down somewhat from the anger that he had experienced by the end of Serena's performance, but still…something was going on here that she wasn't telling him about. And it was time that they stopped being chickens about it, and ask the questions that they didn't really want to know the answers to.

"Here," she threw him her phone to answer the question. He caught it and read the article that she had opened on her web browser. He skimmed it quickly and tossed the phone back to her when he was done.

"You know better than to believe everything you read on the Internet, Serena," he said. "And what does it matter if I am proposing to Beryl? You and I are just friends now, and it's a miracle that we're even that. Or don't you remember? You cheated on me."

The anger that had been bubbling within her for weeks now finally boiled over. "I am so sick and tired of you throwing that into my face," she exclaimed and threw her phone against the wall where it broke into pieces and dented the wall. "Because guess what, Darien, just because you think you know what you saw back in that hotel room, you don't know a goddamn fucking thing. But, here's the beauty of the whole situation, I can't tell you what really happened without sounding like the jealous ex. So why don't you do us both a favor, and get out of my dressing room." She turned her back to him and waited for him to leave.

Darien didn't know what else to do, but leave. He had always been suspicious about what he had seen that night in the hotel room, and now with Serena's complete and utter breakdown, he knew that maybe he had been right. Maybe she hadn't cheated on him after all, but could he really believe what she was saying? He turned to the door, and before he left said, "You know, you could have never have sounded like a jealous ex-girlfriend to me, Serena. But after that performance, it's obvious that you've become just that." The door closed gently behind him.

Serena whirled back around just as the door closed and didn't know what to do. The tears were already flowing from her outburst, but now instead of being tears of anger, they were tears of pain. How many more times would she cry because of Darien Shields?

* * *

 Day 83

* * *

**From Good Morning America:**

_Laura Spencer: Everyone is talking about the Teen Choice Awards this morning. More specifically, the performance by Beautiful Angels Go to Hell. Amidst rumors that Darien Shields was going to propose to Beryl Thornton and was looking for Serena's permission, the singer performed with the rapper HT. Take a look._

_Laura Spencer: Now, a lot of people are saying that Serena's reaction was too severe and that she has finally lost her mind. What do you guys think?_

_Josh Elliott: You know, I think a lot of people are forgetting that Serena left the tour under mysterious circumstances. She never really came out and said what the reason was, a lot of people speculated that she cheated on Darien. But I think that this was Serena's way of saying that maybe that wasn't the case. I think it was a great performance._

**From The View:**

_Whoopi Goldberg: Last night's Teen Choice Awards are the talk of the town this morning. The band Beautiful Angels Go to Hell and the rapper HT had a controversial performance that many are speculating was a response to the rumors that Darien Shields is proposing to his current girlfriend Beryl Thornton. What did you guys think of the performance? Was it too severe?_

_Elisabeth Hasselback: I think it was. I think Serena forgot that she was performing in front of a bunch of teenagers. This is the kind of thing that she needed to do in private, not at a public event. It was very classless of her._

_Joy Behar: Classless? Seriously? I think it was brilliant of her. What was classless was Darien Shields. He knows he's being followed by the paparazzi and yet he's going to these stores, meeting with her…right?_

_Whoopi: Yeah, according to an article Darien was seen at a jewelry store leaving with something and then going to lunch with Serena right afterwards._

_Joy: Right. I think it was classless of him. Obviously, Serena is coming out and saying that what the paparazzi are saying that he was at lunch asking her permission isn't true. I think it was a great performance._

_Elisabeth: How was it a great performance? I told you, what Serena did was tacky. She's basically calling Darien and Beryl out when she should have talked to them in person and in private._

_Barbara Walters: I don't think it was tacky. I think it was a girl finally breaking her silence over being mistreated. No one really knows what happened when she left the tour, and Serena is probably tired of the rumors. She's setting the record straight._

**From The Talk:**

_Julie Chen: Beautiful Angels Go to Hell lead singer, Serena London is making the headlines again after her controversial performance last night on the Teen Choice Awards. The singer performed a new song called 'Payphone' which basically called out her ex Darien Shields and his new girlfriend Beryl Thornton. A lot of people are saying that the performance was in bad taste, and that the lead singer has finally lost her mind. What did you think of the performance?_

_Sharon Osbourne: I think it was absolutely brilliant. This girl is an amazing singer, and I don't know what happened earlier why she left the tour, but I think she's getting ready to finally break her silence._

_Julie: Do you think she's lost her mind?_

_Sharon: No. Listen, I think that she was responding to all these rumors about Darien and Beryl getting engaged, and she was basically telling the world that she doesn't approve because Darien and her aren't over yet._

_Sarah Gilbert: I actually think it was a combination of the marriage rumors and the fact that Darien and Beryl did a duet a few nights ago. That lyric: 'One more stupid love song I'll be sick,' I'm guessing that's what she's singing about._

_Sheryl Underwood: I don't think she's saying that things between her and Darien aren't over yet. I mean, she's been hanging out with that rapper HT for a while now, I think she's just saying that Darien threw her love back in her face. Right? But does anyone else think it's interesting that Darien's new girlfriend Beryl has the same last name as his manager Sapphire? The guy Serena was supposedly cheating on Darien with?_

* * *

Serena sat in her apartment the day after the Teen Choice Awards watching the morning talk shows. She was trying not to laugh at some people's opinion of what she had done last night, but it was hard not to. _Classless, ha._ She thought to herself. But it was nice to see the media on her side for once. Yes, she had seen the tweets telling her that she was insane and that she needed to go to rehab and get herself well again. But she had also seen the tweets of support. They now knew that she had a side to tell.

Her phone was vibrating on the couch cushion next to her. "Hey, Amy," she answered.

"Serena," her producer said with a stern voice. "What are you doing? You were supposed to be in the studio an hour ago."

"Uh…Amy…haven't you heard? The record label dropped us this morning." That was the reason that Serena had been up since seven this morning. Her phone had buzzed and when she saw that it was the record label she answered. They told her that due to her performance the night before and her other shenanigans during the course of the tour they were dropping her from the label. Meaning that Serena and her band were without a label and all the songs that they had done for their next record were no longer theirs. It didn't help either that after she had hung up with the label, Sapphire had texted her.

**I told you, I wasn't going to be lenient the next time. Enjoy the commercial business.**

"What do you mean, the record label dropped you?"

"Uh…exactly like it sounds. They dropped me because apparently the performance last night was the last straw. Sapphire probably had a hand in it too. But whatever, Amy."

"No, not whatever, Amy. This is the last straw for me to. Don't worry, I'll take care of it." She hung up the phone without a good-bye. Serena pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it. What did she mean by 'I'll take care of it?' There was nothing that she could do. Sapphire had done enough. Serena was done in the music business and she was…well, she wasn't sure what she was. After the tears had stopped flowing last night, HT had picked her up and asked a question that she hadn't wanted to ask herself.

"Is he really worth all this?" She hadn't answered him, and she still didn't know the answer to it herself. But she was wondering if Darien was worth all of this. She was tired of crying over him. She was tired of caring what he did. She was just tired. And maybe HT was right. Maybe it was time for her to move on.

* * *

Beryl, Darien and Sapphire were doing damage control the next day. Sapphire was dealing with the whole Serena issue. Beryl was dealing with the rumors that Serena didn't like her. Darien was dealing with the rumors that Serena was angry with him for proposing to Beryl and he was dealing with the rumors that he was going to propose to Beryl. His response that he wasn't actually going to propose to Beryl quieted his fans that were pro-Serena, but pissed off Beryl.

Not that she let it show.

"Of course, I understand," she said with a smile on her face. A smile that was forced. "But why were you at a jewelry store?"

"I had something I needed to pick up," he replied and then went back to his computer. Beryl watched him trying to figure out why he was being so vague with her, but once she realized that she wasn't going to get a straight answer out of him, she left for her brother's room.

"Hey," he said as he answered the door. "So, what's going on with Darien?"

"He won't say why he went to the jewelry store. How about you? What's going on with that blonde haired tramp?"

"I had a meeting with the record label executives," he replied. "They saw that it was right to drop her from their label." He smiled in victory.

"Good, now maybe she'll finally leave us the hell alone."

* * *

Darien sat in front of his laptop and he continued to stare at the screen. He'd been watching Serena's performance over and over again all afternoon. He was trying to decipher the meaning behind her lyrics, but he couldn't really come up with anything that he didn't already know. Even though she looked like she was moving on, she hadn't and by him telling her about dating Beryl… Well, she didn't seem to be okay with that. _You can't expect me to be fine. I don't expect you to care._ But that was the troubling thing. Yeah, he was dating Beryl now, but…well…he knew it was all a farce. He wasn't okay either, and he _did_ care that Serena wasn't fine.

The lyric though in the chorus that was most disturbing was _one more stupid love song I'll be sick_. What did she mean? Unless…he thought about all the songs that he had been performing over the last week and could only come up with one. The song 'I Can't Ever Get Enough of You,' the one he performed with Beryl…was that the song she was pissed about? But why? He got up from his chair and went looking for his book of song lyrics. When he opened to the page that contained that song, he sat down and put his head in his hands.

Of course, that was why she was so pissed off. The combination of the marriage proposal rumors and then the fact that he sung this song – a song that Serena and him had worked on together – with Beryl. It was basically a slap in the face. But still, she had no right to hurt him like that. Why couldn't she have talked to him about it? Then again, this all started because of him going to that jewelry store to pick up _her_ ring. He had to admit that there had been a lot of miscommunication between everyone. The only question was how was he going to make this right?

* * *

Day 84

* * *

**darienshields: I never thought I would change my opinion again. But you moved me in a way that I've never known.**

**serenaangelx: All I ever do is over think and drink until I attack.**

**darienshields: But straight away you just moved into position again. You abused me in a way that I've never known.**

**serenaangelx: We know how to talk it into the ground. We know how to wear it out.**

**darienshields: So break me shake me take me over. When the madness stops then you will be alone.**

**serenaangelx: How do we take back what's been done? What's been said? Oh my…**

**darienshields: So you're the kind who deals with the games in the mind. You confuse me in a way that I've never known.**

**serenaangelx: And I would give anything just to chase the dark away. And start all over again.**

**darienshields: God, don't you know that I live with a ton of regret. 'Cause I used to move you in a way that you've never known**

**serenaangelx: I fed you a fantasy. But you've been drunk on reality.**

**darienshields: But then I accused you in a way that you've never known**

**serenaangelx: All the stupid games we play. And all the shit that we've been saying.**

**darienshields: But you hurt me in a way that I've never known.**

**Serenaangelx: Remember remember the first time we collided. We lost it. We lost it.**

* * *

Amy had lied to her. Well, okay, she hadn't really lied. She did go into meet with the record executives, but she hadn't really taken care of it. She had gotten Serena and her band the songs that they had already recorded for their next album, and she even got them three more songs to record. The only stipulation was that all three songs had to be a duet.

The first duet that she was going to do was going to be with HT, he had actually talked to her about it last night. It was a response to those who were saying that Serena had finally lost her mind and needed to disappear until everything had blown over.

"Can we just get this over with?" She asked as she walked into the recording studio that day. HT was already there too, and he looked at her with a knowing look. They had discussed further his question from the TCA's, and she was still undecided. But the way things were going, especially with the lyric war that they had gotten into on Twitter that morning, she was getting ready to say good-bye, to throw out Plan E.

"Sure thing, Serena," Amy replied seeing the look in her eyes. She was tired and maybe people were right. She needed to disappear for a while. "Here we go. 'The Monster' take one, in three, two…" she mouthed one and a beat pumped through the speakers.

 _I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed_  
_Get along with the voices inside of my head_  
_You're trying to save me, stop holding your breath_  
_And you think I'm crazy, and you think I'm crazy_  
_I wanted the fame, but not the cover of Newsweek_  
_Oh, well, guess beggars can't be choosey_  
_Wanted to receive attention for my music_  
_Wanted to be left alone in public. Excuse me_  
_For wanting my cake and eat it too, and wanting it both ways_  
_Fame made me a balloon 'cause my ego inflated_  
_When I blew; see, but it was confusing_  
_'Cause all I wanted to do is be the Bruce Lee of loose leaf_  
_Abused ink, used it as a tool when I blew steam (wooh!)_  
_Hit the lottery, oh wee_  
_But with what I gave up to get it was bittersweet_  
_It was like winning a used mink_  
_Ironic 'cause I think I'm getting so huge I need a shrink_  
_I'm beginning to lose sleep: one sheep, two sheep_  
_Going cuckoo and cooky as Kool Keith_  
_But I'm actually weirder than you think_  
_'Cause I'm_  
_I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed_  
_Get along with the voices inside of my head_  
_You're trying to save me, stop holding your breath_  
_And you think I'm crazy, you think I'm crazy_  
_But that's not fair_  
_Now, I ain't much of a poet but I know somebody once told me_  
_To seize the moment and don't squander it_  
_'Cause you never know when it all could be over tomorrow_  
_So I keep conjuring, sometimes I wonder where these thoughts spawn from_  
_(Yeah, pondering'll do you wonders._  
_No wonder you're losing your mind the way it wanders.)_  
_Yoda-loda-le-hee-hoo_  
_I think it went wandering off down yonder_  
_And stumbled on 'ta Jeff VanVonderen_  
_'Cause I need an interventionist_  
_To intervene between me and this monster_  
_And save me from myself and all this conflict_  
_'Cause the very thing that I love's killing me and I can't conquer it_  
_My OCD's conking me in the head_  
_Keep knocking, nobody's home, I'm sleepwalking_  
_I'm just relaying what the voice in my head's saying_  
_Don't shoot the messenger, I'm just friends with the_  
_I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed_  
_Get along with the voices inside of my head_  
_You're trying to save me, stop holding your breath_  
_And you think I'm crazy, you think I'm crazy_  
_But that's not fair_  
_Call me crazy but I have this vision_  
_One day that I'd walk amongst you a regular civilian_  
_But until then drums get killed and I'm coming straight at_  
_MC's, blood get spilled and I'll_  
_Take you back to the days that I'd get on a Dre track_  
_Give every kid who got played that_  
_Pumped up feeling and shit to say back_  
_To the kids who played him_  
_I ain't here to save the fucking children_  
_But if one kid out of a hundred million_  
_Who are going through a struggle feels it and then relates that's great_  
_It's payback, Russell Wilson falling way back_  
_In the draft, turn nothing into something, still can make that_  
_Straw into gold chump, I will spin Rumpelstiltskin in a haystack_  
_Maybe I need a straightjacket, face facts_  
_I am nuts for real, but I'm okay with that_  
_It's nothing, I'm still friends with the_  
_I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed_  
_Get along with the voices inside of my head_  
_You're trying to save me, stop holding your breath_  
_And you think I'm crazy, you think I'm crazy_  
_I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed_  
_Get along with the voices inside of my head_  
_You're trying to save me, stop holding your breath_  
_And you think I'm crazy, you think I'm crazy_  
_But that's not fair_  
_But that's not fair_

At the end of the song, Serena whipped off the headphones and was about to leave when Amy called her back in. She stopped and looked at her almost ex-producer with a questioning look. She had finished for the day because she hadn't wrote a new song that was duet worthy yet, so what was going on?

"What's up, Amy?" She asked.

"I just wanted to let you know that you need to be back in the studio in two days so that way you can record the next duet," the blunette replied.

"Um, no offense or anything, Amy, but I don't think I'll be able to crank out a song worthy of a duet in two days."

"Don't worry about it, Serena. That was another one of the record exes stipulations, _I'm_ writing your last two duets, and _I_ get to chose who you do them with."

Serena blinked in surprise. She didn't even know that Amy could write songs, even though she should have known better. Amy _was_ a music producer; she had worked with everyone in the music biz in some shape or form. Even Darien had worked with her on his first album.

"Okay," she said with a smile. "I look forward to seeing what you come up for me." She turned to go and this time left with HT who wanted to continue their conversation from last night, still.

* * *

Day 85

* * *

Darien had been surprised when Amy had called him to come into the studio that day. He hadn't been scheduled to come in for studio time for another few weeks. But when he came in and Amy told him why she had called him, well… He _should_ have left. Considering he was supposed to be angry with Serena, and Beryl…well, Beryl was just a whole other matter that he didn't feel like getting into. But the sane thing for him to do was to tell Amy that he couldn't help them that he wanted nothing to do with Serena and her music career anymore. But after his soul searching the other day, he decided to help.

After he had recorded, Amy came in and gave him sheets of music.

"This is the other song that you'll be doing with Serena in three days," she explained. "However, you'll both be in studio at the same time for this one."

He nodded his head and scanned the sheets. This song was going to be good. Probably just as good as the one he had just finished recording. "Hey, Amy? You seem to be close with Serena. Do you have any idea what's going on with her?" The question had been burning in his head since he had started recording the first duet that he would do with the singer.

Amy sighed. "I do, but that conversation is really one that you should have with Serena."

He sighed in return, knowing that she was going to answer with something along those lines, but he had to at least try. "Thanks, Amy, I'll see you in a few days."

* * *

Day 86

* * *

Serena woke up that morning in an apartment that wasn't her own. She sat up groggily and looked around her as she tried to remember what had happened the night before. HT and her had been hanging out – something that they had been doing a lot more of lately – when a swarm of paparazzi had descended on to them screaming questions about whether or not Serena was dating HT. Since his apartment was closer and there was no way in that mess she would have been able to call a cab, they had made a run for it. Being the vultures that they are, the paparazzi didn't leave, even when they had ducked into the building. They had camped out all night.

So that's why she was waking up here. HT had told her that there was no way out of this building without them seeing her, and because he didn't want her getting caught up in that mess, he had offered her an invitation to stay until things calmed down.

"'Morning, sleepyhead," HT said from the doorway to his room. He held a cup of coffee in his hands and a paper in the other. She looked up at him, having smelled the coffee, and he walked into the room with a smile on his face. He handed her the cup of coffee and she greedily took it. She couldn't function without a little caffeine boost.

After taking a sip she pointed to the paper in his hands, "Do I really want to know what that has to say?"

"Just the usual, they think that because we've been hanging out so much together and all the duets that we've been doing together, that something is going on," he said and handed her the paper for her to peruse.

She glanced over the headline and the picture quickly before shaking her head. "God, how stupid are these people. Just because we're of the opposite sex and we're hanging out together doesn't mean that we're dating." She froze as the words left her mouth. She really needed to learn when to keep her mouth shut, because even though, she knew that there wasn't anything going on between her and him – but… Well, HT had confessed at their lunch a few days ago that he felt something for her that was more than just friends. But he knew that things between her and Darien weren't over just yet, and he just wanted to be friends with her until she figured out how she was feeling.

"Sorry," she whispered softly not daring to meet his eyes.

"Don't apologize," he said. "Like I told you, you and I are still friends no matter what happens. That's something you would have said to me as a friend. So, you have to go into the studio today?" He asked thankfully changing the subject.

"Yeah, the second duet is today," she sighed and took another sip of coffee. "I'm actually kind of curious as to how this is going to go. Amy is writing the song and she chose the duet partner."

"Knowing Amy it's going to be good."

* * *

Although it was Serena's second to last time in this studio, she walked in with pep in her step later on that afternoon. She was excited to see what Amy had for her, it would be the first time that she would sing a song that someone else had written.

"Hey Amy," she greeted with a smile. Her music producer returned it, glad to see the singer in such good spirits before she handed her some sheet music.

"Here's the song," she said. "Everything is pre-recorded except for your part, so…whenever you're ready." Serena nodded and walked into the studio. She placed the sheets on the stand before the microphone and glanced over them quickly. This might take a few takes, but that was okay.

"All right, let's do this," she said as she put the headphones on over her ears. Amy gave her a thumbs up and before long music drifted through.

 _Another shot of whiskey please bartender_  
_Keep it coming 'til I don't remember at all_  
_How bad it hurts when you're gone (no, no, no, no)_  
_Turn the music up a little bit louder_  
_Just gotta get past the midnight hour (uh, huh)_  
_Maybe tomorrow it won't be this hard_  
_Who am I kidding?_  
_I know what I'm missing_  
_Oh, I had my heart set on you_  
_But nothing else hurts like you do_  
_Who knew that love was so cruel (yeah, yeah, yeah)_  
_And I waited and waited so long_  
_For someone who'll never come home_  
_It's my fault to think you'll be true (yeah, yeah)_  
_I'm just a fool_  
_(Yeah)_

Serena stopped singing and waited for her duet partner's part to start. When it did her face paled. How…?

 _I say that I don't care and walk away, whatever_  
_And I tell myself we were bad together (uh, huh)_  
_But that's just me trying to move on without you_  
_Oh, I had my heart set on you_  
_But nothing else hurts like you do_  
_Who knew that love was so cruel (yeah, yeah, yeah)_  
_And I waited and waited so long_  
_For someone who'll never come home_  
_It's my fault to think you'll be true (yeah, yeah)_  
_I'm just a fool_  
_(Yeah)_  
_For holding onto something that's_  
_Never ever gonna come back_  
_I can't accept that it's lost_  
_I should've let it go_  
_Held my tongue_  
_Kept my big mouth shut_  
_'Cause now everything is just wrong, wrong, wrong_  
_I'm just a fool_  
_A fool for you_  
_I'm just a fool_

At the end of the song, Serena whipped off the headphones and stalked into the booth. She was heaving, with unshed tears in her eyes. "What did you do, Amy?" She asked. "How did you get Darien to come in and record a duet with me?"

"Well, he's going to do two," she replied nonchalant.

"What?" Serena squeaked and sat down in the seat beside her.

"Serena, I have some stuff to tell you, but you have to be silent until I'm done. Can you do that?" The blonde nodded and Amy continued. "So when I met with the record executives they weren't willing to do anything for me. They were just going to let you go because of something Sapphire had told them. I was so mad that this asshole was getting away with this shit again, that…well, I quit. But before I left I told them that they had to give you back the tracks you had recorded for your next album. They agreed, but they had one more request. They were giving you three songs, but they all had to be duets since that seem to be your must successful. I agreed to that, but I told them I got to choose who you did them with and I got to write two of them."

"Amy," Serena finally said after her producer finished her tale. "Why did you do this? You're out of a job! Just because of my band and Sapphire. It's not right."

"No, but I'm not out of a job. I'm starting my own record label, and I want your band to be the first group I sign."

* * *

Day 87

* * *

Sapphire and Beryl met in the darkened alley outside Darien's apartment complex. Ever since Darien had come home to prepare for the final show, Beryl had been staying there. But it was getting harder to get away from him. Ever since Serena's performance on the TCA's, the media had been looking into Beryl and Sapphire. Why did they share the same last name? Darien was also curious and had been asking questions.

But that was okay, because Sapphire and Beryl had prepared for such a thing. Why did they share the same last name? Easy, they were distant cousins. There were no ulterior motives here, just a coincidence. Ha-ha. Not.

"Well?" Sapphire asked when Beryl finally showed up. "Are we any closer?"

"No," she replied. "I've searched the apartment top to bottom. I can't find whatever it was that Darien bought at that jewelry store. The only thing I did find was sheet music for his next duet…with Serena."

Sapphire growled as he felt another headache coming on. This blonde was proving to be more difficult than he had originally bargained for. Yes, she had messed up with the performance – people even thought she was insane – but she had come out and said that she's okay with that. Then this morning, her new duet with Darien had debuted on Twitter. The fans were eating it up and thought that meant that they were going to reunite. Fat chance.

"This is getting ridiculous," he seethed.

"Indeed it is," Beryl agreed. "That's why _I'm_ going to deal with it now."

"You?"

"Yes, me. Obviously whatever you're doing hasn't worked. So let me have a crack at it." The auburn-haired woman smiled a smile that made even Sapphire shudder. But his sister had a point. Maybe it was time to have Beryl deal with Serena.

* * *

Day 88

* * *

Darien woke up that morning with butterflies in his stomach. It was weird, but he understood why he had them. He was going to talk to Serena about everything today, whether she wanted to or not. He sighed and got out of bed, happy to see that Beryl was nowhere to be found. He didn't understand why she thought that she could move into his apartment. He never issued an invitation and in reality, he was starting to question whether there was something else going on there.

She said that Sapphire and her had the same last name because they were distant cousins, but…something wasn't right. Maybe Serena had a clue? He shook his head and headed to the shower. He had a big day ahead of him today.

* * *

Serena didn't wake up that morning with butterflies in her stomach. She woke up determined. After today she was done with Darien Shields. She wasn't going to fight anymore; it just wasn't worth the aggravation. He wouldn't listen to her, and even when she tried to tell him he told her that she sounded like a jealous ex. Well, you know, what? Fine. If that's how he wanted to be, she was going to move on.

She was thinking about this as she walked into the studio. She was the first one there and she set up her station and went through the lyrics that Amy had given her after their talk two days before. They were great lyrics. Perfect for their situation. She looked up as the door opened and Darien walked in. They didn't say anything to each other as he approached the microphone that was on the opposite side of her station.

 _Great,_ she thought. So whenever they were singing they would be looking directly at one another. Had Amy planned this? Most likely. Speaking of their producer…

"Okay, guys," she said from the booth. "Let's do this. Darien you're up first. Serena, you know when to come in?"

"Yeah," she replied avoiding Darien's gaze.

"All right, let's record your last song on this label." Serena mentally groaned as she met Darien's questioning gaze. She could tell that he wanted to ask her what was going on, but they were about to record so she couldn't answer him even if she wanted to. The music started and Darien began to sing.

 _Say something, I'm giving up on you_  
_I'll be the one, if you want me to_  
_Anywhere I would've followed you_  
_Say something, I'm giving up on you_

Serena started harmonizing with him, and tried to avoid his stare some more, but it was hard to the way that they were set up.

 _And I am feeling so small_  
_It was over my head_  
_I know nothing at all_  
_And I will stumble and fall_  
_I'm still learning to love_  
_Just starting to crawl_  
_Say something, I'm giving up on you_  
_I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you_  
_Anywhere I would've followed you_  
_Say something, I'm giving up on you_  
_And I will swallow my pride_  
_You're the one that I love_  
_And I'm saying goodbye_  
_Say something, I'm giving up on you_  
_And I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you_  
_And anywhere I would've followed you (Oh-oh-oh-oh)_  
_Say something, I'm giving up on you_  
_Say something, I'm giving up on you_  
_Say something..._

Serena didn't know what had happened. She was trying to be cold to Darien because she had decided that things were going to be over. That she was done. But…that song had brought up everything again and there were unshed tears in her eyes. She backed away from the microphone, it was time for her to leave before she did something stupid. Darien was watching her, almost as if he was waiting for her to do as the song suggested and say something.

But what was there to say? She met his eyes and cursed herself for doing so. It was like he _knew_ …

After a while Darien finally broke the silence. "Seriously? After the song that we just did together you're really going to stand there and not say anything?"

"What do you want me to say, Darien?"

"Oh, I don't know, how about the truth that you've been hinting at since the day all this shit started?" He asked his voice going up a few octaves. He told himself he wasn't going to get angry with her, but damn…it was just _so_ frustrating!

"Why should I even try?" She asked her raised voice matching his. "You said it yourself the last time we talked. Even if I tell you the truth I'm just going to sound like the jealous ex – something I've _never_ wanted to be. So that's it. I'm done with all of this."

"You're done?" Darien asked incredulous. "What do you mean you're done?"

"Just the way it sounds. I'm sick and tired of crying myself to sleep every night because of you. I'm sick of trying to overcome all this, but being pushed back with every try. It isn't worth it. So I'm bowing out. I wish you and Beryl all the best and hope that she can give you the happy ever after that I couldn't." She turned her back to him, the tears finally falling freely from her eyes.

Darien stared at her back, at a total loss of what to say. She was really giving up on him. He wanted to go over there and envelop her in his arms and tell her that she never should say that. But…when he looked into her eyes while they were recording he could see the truth in the lyrics she sang. She meant every one, so even though his heart was breaking; he knew that it was time for him to leave too.

He walked over to her stand and took the ring box out of his pocket and left it for her there. "I never wanted Beryl – it's always been you, Serena. Maybe one day you'll be able to see that and tell me everything that's happened. Maybe one day we can have that happy ending." He left the studio.

She turned around when she heard the door close and her eyes zoomed in on the box that was sitting on top of her sheet music. _No_ , she thought as she approached it like a snake about to strike. The strike came though when she opened the box and saw the ring. The ring that people thought was for Beryl. It had actually been for _her_. He hadn't been joking when he told her that he thought she had been the one. Which meant…

"Oh no," she croaked collapsing onto the ground clutching the box. "What have I done?"

* * *

Day 89

* * *

Serena walked quickly through the backstage area of the stage where Darien was performing his final show of the tour the next night. She knew, thanks to Mina and the others that he was going to be here doing one last rehearsal and she needed to talk to him. She had to tell him everything that he wanted to know, and how sorry she was. After Amy had picked her off the floor, they realized that maybe she shouldn't have given up on Darien just yet.

She sighed and continued to walk quickly. She felt like she was being followed and with her luck, the bouncer that she had passed on her way in was probably going to realize that she shouldn't have been there – that she was Persona Non Grata until Raye had put her on the list – and come after her. She turned down another hallway, but was pulled into another alcove.

"Well, well, well, if isn't the disgraced beautiful angel. Now, what are you doing here? I thought I made myself clear that you were to stay away from Darien?"

Her eyes adjusted and narrowed when she saw who had pulled her into the alcove. "Sapphire…"


	18. Day 90: Tonight I'm Going to Fight For You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Sailor Moon. I don't own the songs "Roar" by Katy Perry, "Say Something" by A Great Big World featuring Christina Aguilera, "Through Glass" by Stone Sour, and "For Your Entertainment" by Adam Lambert. If only…

Darien was depressed. He felt like a hole had opened up in his chest and was doing its best to eat him alive. The feeling had settled over him as he had left the studio the day before, and it had only gotten worse since he had gotten home. In fact, it was so bad that when he came across Beryl waiting for him upon his return he did the unthinkable.

He broke up with her.

It shouldn't have come as much as a surprise to both of them, considering that things between them hadn't been great since the fallout from the Teen Choice Awards. It was almost like Serena's performance had opened up his eyes. What was he doing getting into a new relationship so soon after Serena? When he wasn't completely over her? Beryl deserved better than what he could give her. Besides he wasn't even sure if she was who she said she was. Not after finding out that Sapphire and her shared the same last name. Cousins? Please. Something was going on there, and he was done trying to figure out what it was. He needed a straightforward relationship for once in his life. He needed…

Well, he needed Serena, but she was giving up on him. She said so herself and even though it broke his heart, he couldn't blame her for doing so. They hadn't been friends when they were supposed to be, they were just trying not to lose contact with each other, hoping that someone would speak the truth sooner or later. They hadn't expected for this to go on so long, and damn it. Darien needed to know the truth. But she still wasn't talking, and at this point she never would.

He wanted to go down to the bar and drink himself into a heavy stupor that would ease this hole in his chest, but the final concert of his summer tour was tonight. He couldn't believe that it had come so quickly, but it was here. And he needed to suck it up for at least twelve more hours, and then he could disappear for a while and try to recover from this roller coaster. If he ever could.

* * *

Serena and her band, plus Darien's band, HT and Amy had been working all night in the video room. Serena's new plan – Part F – involved a lot of parties to be there so that a timetable could be made. Everyone watched the final cut of the video, knowing that it was ready. That this was Serena's final act.

"It's done," Amy said. "Now is everyone clear on how this will work?"

"Crystal," Raye replied. "Are you going to be okay, Serena? You'll be waiting for a long time…"

"Just as long as I remember the light at the end of the tunnel, I'll be good," Serena said with a smile. They all exchanged knowing looks and with one final good-bye, Serena went home to try and get some sleep before the big performance tonight. But the problem with knowing what was going to happen later that night was that she was excited and nervous and restless. She lay in bed staring up at her ceiling when she should have been sleeping. That's when the doorbell rang announcing a visitor. She climbed out of bed and shuffled to her door before answering with a smile.

A smile that was quickly wiped off of her face when she felt the force of a slap across her cheek.

* * *

Beryl was usually a nice person, no really, she was. She was a nice person, she helped elderly people across the street, and she told someone if they dropped money or left something behind. It was just that she wanted a better life and she would do anything to get it. And sometimes that meant that she had to be a complete bitch. But that was okay, because she knew in the inside that she was really a nice person, sometimes though you had to do things to get what you wanted. She had learned that lesson from her brother when she was trying to make her way into the music industry.

"You have to be ruthless, sis," he would always tell her and she had taken his advice to heart. That was how she had come up with the plan to worm her way not only into the biggest tour of the summer, but into the biggest playboy's bed and heart. It had all been going well. Sapphire had arranged an 'open' tryout for the opening act for Darien's summer tour and she had been in the second day's worth of auditions, because honestly, who found their opening act that first day? But that was the problem. Ms. Mutant Lungs over there had somehow snuck through Sapphire's process and Darien had fallen in love. Beryl had been pissed. How was it possible that Darien would fall for that blonde haired slut? Why didn't Sapphire try to convince him to not pick her so hastily? No matter, it was just a hiccup, the blonde tramp wouldn't survive the first week of shows.

But she _did_ and Beryl's temper was reaching its limit. They needed to know more about this girl. There was no way a girl like that sung like that without some kind of past to fuel it. So Sapphire and her had dug until they hit gold. Turned out that Serena wasn't the angel that she was making herself out to be. She had been tainted, and even better she had been _raped_ or so she said. Beryl went to visit the accused rapist and talked with him for fifteen minutes before a new plan came to her mind. They were going to get him out and bring a wrongful lawsuit against Serena. There was no merit to the case of course, but Sapphire would make sure the right person was in charge and make it clear to _her_ that they meant business.

Sapphire was the mastermind who came up with the cheating scandal that Darien would discover, making Serena – who knew their plan – uncreditable if she even tried to tell Darien about it. But still the bitch was resilient, she had wormed her way back into Darien's life by claiming to be 'friends.' Beryl saw through that bullshit with ease, she had even warned Darien that she wasn't over him yet, but he hadn't listened. He wanted to believe the best in her, and it wasn't until the supposed engagement ring incident and the TCA performance that he realized that maybe Beryl was right.

And that was when the shit had hit the fan. Someone had finally realized that Sapphire and Beryl had the same last name, and even though they told Darien that they were just cousins, he was suspicious of them after that. He was growing distant from her, and she knew that something was bound to happen. She had to hype up her game. She had to make Serena look like a jealous ex-girlfriend. But she didn't know how. Everything that her and her brother had thrown at the blonde, she had worked to her advantage. Even the rumor that they had spread that Serena was going off the handle was spun back around with the release of her and HT's duet "The Monster." Even pulling her off the record label wasn't enough. She was still releasing music. And what was worse, Darien was recording with her, and Beryl could tell that his feelings for her were back. He was still in love with Serena.

It was after his latest recording session with her, that Beryl finally lost it. He had come home in a melancholy mood, refusing to talk to her or see her when she blew.

"That's it! I've had it!" She screamed at him and he looked up in shock.

"Had what?" He asked.

"I've had it with you and Serena! Every time you go out and see her, you come back depressed and withdrawn. Darien, do I have to remind you that we're in a relationship now? That Serena and you are over?"

His eyes narrowed at that. "Serena and I aren't over, you stupid bitch. Something happened right before you came on the tour, but she won't tell me what. And I'm really starting to think that you and Sapphire had something to do with it."

"Admit it, you still love her."

"Of course, I do. It was her that I was going to propose to before everything happened." He said and didn't notice her flinch.

"Then what are you still doing with me?" She asked.

"Good question. In fact, Beryl, I think it's time we ended this. I don't love you."

"You just made a mistake, a huge one," she replied as she stomped towards the door. "You really think Serena still loves you? Then why isn't she here? Why did she stop fighting for you? I would never do that to you, Darien. I will always fight for you." She slammed the door closed and walked away as anger burned through her veins. She had it with that blonde ruining her plans. She was going to deal with her once and for all. She called a cab and told them an address when she got inside.

* * *

Serena stumbled back stunned allowing Beryl to cross the threshold to her apartment and slam the door closed. The woman looked over her apartment with disgust and advanced upon her yet again with her hand outstretched. Serena finally regained her bearings and backed away from the enraged red head.

"Beryl, what are you doing here?" She asked.

"Wow, you really are a dumb blonde, aren't you?" The red head seethed. "Isn't obvious why I'm here, Serena? Darien broke up with me this afternoon because he's still in love with you. You are like a cockroach, no matter how hard I try to squish you, you keep coming back to life. Well, that's it. I've had it. I'm going to spray you." Her hand snapped out to slap Serena on the face again, but she reached out and grabbed her wrist before her palm could make contact.

"Have you stopped for a moment and thought about this, Beryl? If you and Darien were really meant to be don't you think things would have worked out on their own?"

Beryl snatched her hand back and glowered, "Of course, I've thought about that. But things _would have_ worked out if you hadn't kept resurfacing. If you had kept your damned blonde head down and let Darien move on with his life."

"No, it wouldn't have, and somewhere deep down in that blackened heart of yours, you know that. You know that Darien was already suspicious of why I would cheat on him with Sapphire of all people. Especially when I fought so hard for him." Beryl stared at her with contempt as her chest heaved up and down with her fury. The problem was that a little part of her brain knew that she was right. That her plan had been perfect until Serena had entered the picture and Darien had fallen for her.

It didn't mean that she still wasn't pissed though. She slapped Serena again, sending the blonde rocking backwards, before she stomped towards the door. As she opened it, she left with one last shot. "You may be right, about Darien, Serena, but that doesn't make us even. You stole my one chance at happiness, and I will make you pay for it. So don't you dare, think about showing up at the concert tonight, or else…" She slammed the door closed behind her as she left.

Serena watched her leave with a watery eye. That slap _really_ hurt. Worse than the first one had. She rubbed her cheek tenderly and wondered why she had let the furious red head get away with both slaps. The old Serena would have hit back. But she knew that Beryl would get hers later on tonight, even with her stupid threat. She could try to make her regret it, but Serna had a plan to end all plans. Part F would bring down the house.

* * *

 Four Hours Before the Show

* * *

Sapphire didn't like to pace and scream. He usually left that to his sister, but today was an extraordinary circumstance. It was the last night of the summer tour. It was supposed to be his victory lap. Darien and Beryl were supposed to be getting engaged tonight…if things had gone to plan. But this whole summer was a total shit fest and it wasn't getting any better. Instead of getting engaged, Darien had broken up with Beryl. And his sister was _pissed_ , she had come over screaming her heart out and ranting about the blonde haired bitch that had ruined everything. He didn't understand most of what she was screaming about, but one thing he did hear was that Beryl had gone over to Serena's place and had smacked the hell out of her twice. He was floored by her actions, but he was also hoping that maybe this bit of violence was the thing they needed. Maybe Serena would leave now that she had encroached the wrath of Beryl.

But he wasn't holding his breath. There had been something different about Serena when he had seen her yesterday. He had caught her walking the halls of the venue, trying to find Darien most likely, and when he had shuffled her off to a nearby alcove the look she had sent him reminded him of how she had been before his whole plan had been revealed. There was fight in her again, something that he hadn't seen in months. To counteract whatever she had scheming in her little head of hers, he was stepping up security. There was no way she was going to be able to get in. Although, he was still wondering how she had gotten in yesterday.

He froze mid pace as the thought entered his mind. How _had_ she gotten in yesterday? He knew for a fact that she was Persona Non Grata, she had been ever since that last show in Grand Rapids a few months ago. So how had she gotten in? She had to have help and he knew for a fact that Darien hadn't helped her. He was still a little green about something that had happened in the recording studio a few days ago. So if it wasn't Darien then… A light bulb flashed as he remembered how close Darien's band had been to Serena and her band. How they had sent him vicious looks since Serena had left, which meant that Serena had told them. They knew everything and they were helping her with whatever plan she had concocted up this time.

Well, he'd be damned if he was going to let that happen. He had come too far to give up now. He left the room he was in to go find Darien's band and find out just what the hell the blonde bitch had up her sleeve.

* * *

Raye and Mina were talking to Zach, the guy in charge of the video screens that were on the stage plus the microphone stuff when Mark and Jason came running into the room. They stopped for a second before grabbing their girlfriend's arms and pulling them towards the other door. "We've gotta go!" They exclaimed but Raye fought back before handing Zach a DVD.

"You'll know when to play it!" She yelled over her shoulder as she was pulled out of the room. When they got a save distance away, Mina and Raye pulled back from their boyfriends and asked in unison, "What the hell was that?" Both guys were leaning over trying to catch their breath. The only word that Jason was able to get out was Sapphire.

"Sapphire?" Mina asked. "What about him?"

"Yes, what about me?" The man they were talking about asked as he came out of the shadows. The four looked up in alarm. Where had he come from? "Oh, sorry, did I scare you? Sorry…now what were you guys saying about me?"

"Nothing," Mark was the first to answer. "Is there something you wanted?"

"Yes, actually, I want to know what you were talking to Zach about."

"We were checking with him about Darien's set," Jason replied following Mark's lead. All four of them knew that Sapphire wasn't to know about what was _really_ going on because if he knew… Well, then Serena's plan would fall apart and she would have no chance at getting Darien back. "Darien's adding some new songs and we wanted to make sure that he had the right cues."

Sapphire didn't answer right away and the four exchanged concerned looks. Did he suspect that something was going on? Had they not fooled him? They waited barely breathing as he looked at each of them. "I see," he finally said. "I do have one more question, if you care to humor me?"

"Uh, yeah, sure. Shoot," Mina replied feeling her palms sweating at her sides. She was nervous. She didn't like confrontations, and knowing what she did about Sapphire anything he wanted to ask her and the others couldn't be good.

"Serena was here yesterday. I found her roaming the halls, probably looking for Darien. But I just wanted to know, since she is Persona Non Grata on the premises, did one of you let her in?"

"Of course not," Raye replied shaking her head. Sapphire waited for her to say more, for any of them to say more, but they stayed quiet knowing that if they did say more they might give something away and fall right into his trap. Sensing this, he finally gave up. He nodded his head and walked away knowing that they were lying. The four watched him leave before looking at each other with terrified expressions.

"We have to call Amy and Serena," Mark said after making sure that Sapphire had really left and wasn't lurking to overhear their conversation. "Things may not be as easy as we thought they were going to be."

"Why?" Mina asked. "I thought we handled that well, we didn't give anything away."

"Yeah, but the guy suspects," Jason sighed running his hand through his hair.

"No, it's worse than that," Raye said. "I saw it in his eyes. He knows."

* * *

Two Hours Before the Show

* * *

Serena was icing her cheek when someone knocked on her door again. She sighed and got up from the couch and checked the peephole this time. She didn't want to be surprised by another angered ex of Darien's slapping her across her face. Her cheek was still sore. But it wasn't an angered ex, it was Darien's band, her band, HT, and Amy. Her frown deepened. What were they all doing here? Shouldn't Darien's band be at the venue getting ready for the show? And making sure that their plan would go off without a hitch? She opened the door, fully intending to ask them this question when they stopped her before the words could leave her mouth.

"Sapphire knows," Raye, Mark, Mina, and Jason said in unison.

"What happened to your face?" Everyone else asked. She sighed and ushered them all into her small apartment before closing the door. She turned back to their questioning faces and sighed.

"Is my face really that bad?" She asked.

"It's starting to bruise," Lita replied and approached her friend with a concerned look. She touched the raised skin around her left cheek and Serena hissed. Damn, was Beryl wearing a ring when she hit her? "What happened?"

"Beryl came by," Serena answered and went back to the couch to place the ice pack back on the cheek. "Apparently, she blames me for her plan not working perfectly. Oh, and for the reason why Darien broke up with her."

"He did _what_?"

"Yeah, you heard me. Apparently, Darien finally saw sense and broke up with Beryl. She was furious and came over and slapped the shit out of me. Twice." She shook her head to shake off their questions. "Doesn't matter. Now, what are you guys talking about? What do you mean Sapphire knows?"

"We think he knows," Mark amended. "He came to talk to us and he knew we were talking to Zach. But we covered and told him we were just making sure Z knew about the new song cues. But there was something else there…"

"I saw it in his eyes," Raye chipped in. "He suspects something is going on. He asked us if we had anything to do with letting you in yesterday."

"Shit," Serena said and collapsed onto the couch. "So what does this mean? How screwed is the plan?"

"Not as screwed as you think," Amy replied. "Sapphire is hiring more security, but what he doesn't understand is that all the security officers in the city pretty much hate him. But they love me, so if you and I go in together, they should let us in."

"It's just our plan to hide you before Darien goes on that might be a little bit more complicated. Sapphire is going to be watching us like hawks," Jason said.

"Yeah, but it will hard to watch all of us at the same time," Mina thought out loud. Everyone in the room froze and stared at the blonde. She looked back at them sheepishly. "What?"

"That's actually not a bad idea," Serena answered. "If you guys split up and just basically pass me on to the next person… You know, the may just work."

"We can work on it, while we work on your wardrobe," Mina said and then looked at her cheek that was starting to turn purple. "And your make up."

* * *

Five Minutes Before the Show

* * *

Darien was drowning in his own despair. He'd been drowning since he had woken up this morning. He wanted this show over, and he already knew that when he went out onto that stage, it was probably going to be the worst show of his career. But he doubted that his fans would hold it against him. They knew what he was going through. They knew that he had broken up with Beryl because he wasn't over Serena. He didn't hide that fact, he announced it on Twitter the night before.

**darienshields: You're going to hear it anyway, so I want you to hear it from me first. Beryl and I are over.**

**darienshields: And the reason is because I'm still in love with Serena.**

He'd been waiting for Serena's response. He didn't know why. He knew that she had given up on him, but there was small part of him that was hoping that she hadn't just yet. That she was just protecting her heart… But she had been silent all day. No text messages or tweets. He really wondered if she had left town again.

It wasn't until he was getting ready to leave that his phone beeped. Serena had finally posted something on Twitter.

**serenaangelx – You held me down. But I got up. Get ready 'cause I've had enough.**

Darien frowned as he read the screen. What did it mean? She couldn't give up on him again. She already had done that. So what was she talking about? Unless…he brightened a little at the thought that maybe she was coming back tonight. That maybe he would finally know the truth.

A knock on his door signaled to him that it was time for the show to start. He opened the door and saw Sapphire who was grinning at him. "You ready to go?" He asked.

"Yeah," Darien said. "Let's do this." He left his dressing room with his manager who escorted him to the stage.

"Now, Darien, about the whole Beryl thing," his manager said.

"I don't want to hear it, Sapphire. Beryl and I are over. I'm still not over Serena, and you know that. So please, don't try to push anymore pop star wannabes on me. Or else."

Sapphire stopped walking and when Darien noticed he turned back to see an enraged face. "Or else, what?" Sapphire said through gritted teeth.

"Or else, I'll fire you," Darien replied and continued to walk to the stage. Sapphire watched him leave not sure what to say. How had things gotten out of control so fast? Darien had been under his thumb for the last year, until… He growled. _Serena_. He couldn't help but think. That blonde bitch ruined _everything_. Well, he wasn't going to stand for it. He had been watching all day, waiting for her to show up, but she hadn't. But he wasn't at ease about it yet. She had tweeted a few minutes ago that she 'had enough,' and he knew that meant that she was going to come after him now that she had nothing else to lose. Well, fine. He was ready for her. Him and Beryl both. Besides, what proof did she have that he did anything wrong?

* * *

Fifteen Minutes into the Show

* * *

Darien was struggling through his set. It wasn't a surprise to him that he was, he knew after everything he had been through in the last week that this show was going to be hard, but it wasn't until he had gotten onto the stage and began to sing, that he realized how hard it was. The crowd was cheering for him like usual. But it wasn't until he had sung the second song of his set – Nothing – that the crowd started chanting Serena's name. They knew that the song was about her, and they wanted answers. Answers that he didn't have. He tried to put it behind him, but their chanting was opening all his wounds.

It was time for the new song – the duet he had recorded with Serena two days ago – and the screen came down and lit up, the video of the two of them recording paused and waiting. The crowd seeing the familiar face of Serena stopped their chanting and hushed waiting for Darien to say something.

"Okay, so this song is something that my music producer Amy wrote for Serena and I," he began. "As a lot of you know, Serena and I have been…well, we've been doing a lot of things. We've been fighting for each other, we were together, we were fighting against each other, and now… I guess you guys know, I broke up with Beryl because of my feelings for her. But I'm afraid this song, put the final nail on the coffin for us." The crowd booed at that but he continued on. "Thanks to Amy, I'll be using the video from our recording session, since Serena couldn't be hear to perform it herself. I hope you guys like it." The music began and he started to sing.

_Say something I'm giving up on you_   
_I'll be the one if you want me to_   
_Anywhere I would have followed you_   
_Say something I'm giving up on you_   
_And I will stumble and fall_

Darien was walking towards the end of the stage when the chanting of "Serena, Serena," and the song he was singing overcame him. He stumbled and fell to his knees. The music stopped and the crowd hushed. They hadn't expected him to actually fall. They looked at each other before looking back at the stage. Was it all just a stunt for the crowd? But as they looked, they knew that it wasn't. Darien had stumbled and fell, and he wasn't getting up.

"Stop it," he whispered into the microphone. "I hear your chants. I know you want Serena here. You've wanted her to be here since she left and I'm with you on that. I want her here too, but she _isn't_ here. She left. She's given up on me and I can't blame her." He lowered the microphone and stood up. He began walking away from the stage, towards the curtain when the screen that was supposed to show the video from Darien and Serena's recording session began to show something else.

It was dark and Serena was walking down a street until she stopped to look at a window filled with TV screens that were showing entertainment news programs featuring Darien, Beryl and herself. Music began to play and she started to sing on the screen.

_I'm looking at you through the glass_   
_Don't know how much time has passed_   
_Oh, god it feels like forever_   
_But no one tells you that forever feels like home_   
_Sitting all alone inside your head_   
_How do you feel? That is the question_   
_But I forget that you don't expect an easy answer_   
_When something like a soul becomes initialized_   
_And folded up like paper dolls and little notes_   
_You can't expect a bit of hope_   
_So while you're outside looking in_   
_Describing what you see_   
_Remember what you're staring at is me_

As the chorus played again, Serena was sitting in a room looking at tabloids.

_How much is real? So much to question_   
_An epidemic of the mannequins_   
_Contaminating everything_   
_With thought came from the heart_   
_It never did right from the start_   
_Just listen to the noises_   
_(Null and void instead of voices)_

There was a pause as Serena turned on the television set and a blinding headline took up the screen: **SERENA LEAVES TOUR AMIDST SCANDAL.** The headline changed: **DID SHE CHEAT ON DARIEN?** and the headlines continued to flip past. Every headline about Serena since she left the tour, Darien couldn't help but realize. The music resumed as the camera zeroed in on Serena's face.

_Before you tell yourself it's just a different scene  
Remember it's just different from what you've seen_

The screen faded to black and the music stopped the last line echoing. Another video began to play, but it was a scene that Darien knew well. It was Serena and Sapphire in an alcove and they were talking. Or at least that's what it seemed like.

_"What do you think you're doing here, Serena?" Sapphire asked her as she snatched her arm away from his grasp._

_"I'm here to see Darien," she replied anger lacing her voice._

_"Really? I thought we discussed this? You aren't to see him again. Or do I have to..."_

_"What, Sapphire? In case you forgot I have nothing else to lose! You've already taken him away, and my music career. So what else can you possibly take from me?"_

_"Don't yell, Serena, it's not like you. Besides I warned you what would happen if you didn't disappear quietly. Or have you forgotten our conversation from Grand Rapids?"_

_"How could I forget? You basically threatened that Alan's lawsuit would continue if I didn't leave the tour. You made Darien think I was cheating on him with you so he would hate me and so you could sneak your sister into my place in his heart. Well, it didn't work, did it?"_

_"Well, at least I got to ruin you - "_

The video cut off and Sapphire rushed out onto the stage to make sure it had stopped playing. The look on his face said it all to Darien. Everything that was said on that video was true. Sapphire had been behind _everything_.

"You bastard!" Darien exclaimed and approached his manager threateningly.

"Now, Darien, please, hear me out. That was all lies. Serena faked that whole video. She's just trying to cover her ass, to give you a reason for her behavior. To make herself look like the victim like she did wit Alan all those years ago."

Darien froze in his tracks his fists clenched at his sides. "I don't believe you. I believe _her_. Why else would I walk in on you two twice? She would never cheat on me! That's why she always said that there was something else going on, because there was! And she couldn't say anything to me about it because you made damn well sure that she couldn't without losing everything. Well, enough! You're fired!" The crowd cheered but Sapphire only smirked.

"Oh, yeah? You think you can fire me that easily? I made you who you are!"

"And I'm about to break you, if you don't get off my stage."

"Are you really going to throw all of this away for some girl who was so easily manipulated off this tour? For a girl who manipulated her revenge?" Sapphire asked and watched the doubt cloud Darien's eyes. "She's nothing, but a lying bitch. Don't you think that if any of this was true that she would be here to shove it back in my face?"

Darien opened his mouth to say something, but came up with nothing. Sapphire was right, damn him. If what that video said was true, then where was Serena? Why wasn't she here?

"Where is she, Darien?" Sapphire asked taunting him. "Why isn't she here?"

* * *

Serena was watching everything from beneath the stage waiting for her cue. Although when Darien had fell during their duet, she had almost ruined everything to get to him. He was taking her rejection hard and she wanted so much to go out there and comfort him, let him know that she was there and she wasn't leaving again, but she had to have her plan unfold. When the video played and Darien realized the truth, she almost started to cry. He finally knew everything! But then Sapphire came out – like she knew he would – and tried to explain it all away.

But what she hadn't expected was for Darien to doubt her because she wasn't there. It was a low blow, yet somehow she knew she shouldn't have expected anything less from Sapphire. His career was on the line, his credibility about to explode into smithereens. So he was grasping at straws, and from Darien's expression and some of the crowd, it was a good straw to grab hold of. They were doubting.

_Time to bring down the house,_ she thought as the music began.

* * *

Sapphire was losing his temper. Serena had done something he hadn't expected which set him at a disadvantage. She hadn't showed at the venue to bring him down. She had somehow gotten Zach to play a video where she had gotten their conversation from yesterday on tape! Cunning little whore, but he knew how to press Darien's buttons. Where was she if this was true? It was a good question, and the crowd, Darien and himself waited for an answer. But none came.

Until the music started. A song that the crowd seemed to know. He turned in fury to the band and paled when he realized it wasn't Darien's band anymore. It was _Serena's_. Which meant… the floor in front of him opened up and a familiar head of blonde came into view.

_Oh, do you like what you see?_

She sang and the crowd cheered as Darien stared in shock.

_Let me entertain you 'til you scream_

And as she hit the final note she threw back her fist and punched Sapphire in the face sending him sprawling across the stage.


	19. September-November: Begin Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Sailor Moon. I don't own Jimmy Fallon or The Rolling Stone Magazine. I also don't own the songs "Stupid Mistake" by Darren Hayes, "The Show Must Go On" and "We Will Rock You" by Queen and "I Won't Give Up" by Jason Mraz. They are amazing songs, but alas. Anyway, on with the final chapter eek.

Sapphire slid across the stage and even though Darien hadn't been the one to throw the punch, he felt some satisfaction from it. His ex-manager was finally getting what he deserved. The crowd was screaming at the top of their lungs and the security guards rushed to surround Sapphire's crumpled body. They lifted him off the ground, and he sent angry looks towards Serena and Darien. His mouth was open and he was shouting something, but due to the crowd they couldn't hear what he was saying. As soon as he was gone off the stage, Darien turned back to Serena, to finally kiss her the way he wanted to for months, but when he turned she wasn't there.

Serena was gone.

* * *

 September

* * *

Darien straightened his tie for the umpteenth time as he waited outside the courtroom. It had been three weeks since the final concert of his tour. It had been three weeks since the media had erupted in an apocalypse of stories. Apparently, the media had been suspicious of Sapphire from the beginning, but because of his high standing in the music world, no one dared to go after him. Not until Serena had caused him to fall. After being dragged off the stage, the police had been waiting for him. He had been arrested – along with Beryl – for a whole lot of charges. He had been fired from the music label and all of his decisions that pertained to Serena had been overturned.

When Darien had learned about that piece of information he had been excited. Since Serena was no longer off the record label, Amy wasn't going to leave, and both of them could continue recording her second album. That meant that Serena was going to be coming back to the studio, meaning that he would finally get to see her. Ever since she disappeared off the stage as quickly as she came, he had been trying to get in contact with her. He had been calling, texting, emailing, and he even DM'ed her on Twitter. But she hadn't responded. She hadn't responded to anyone. Her last tweet was from the night of the concert.

But when Darien went to the studio for a week and a half and still didn't see her, he started to wonder if maybe Serena had changed her mind. That maybe she was done with the whole music industry. It hadn't done anything for her. What was supposed to be a good thing for her had only ended up hurting her. Had changed her. With great regret, Darien spent the last week and a half holed up in his apartment. The media was a constant on his doorstep, asking him questions about Sapphire and Beryl, and asking him about Serena; where she was and whether or not she was dead.

It wasn't until his lawyer called two days ago that he even had contact with anyone from the outside world. Sapphire's trial was coming up and Darien was being called by both parties to the stand. Upon hearing this information, he wondered for a second if maybe he would see Serena, since she was also a part of this, but he didn't want to get his hopes up again. She was in seclusion or whatever. She would probably do what she did for her case against Alan and just Skype in. But still, that morning, he got up and put on his suit, braving the paparazzi he left his apartment and now here he was sitting outside the courtroom waiting for the case to be called inside.

He was checking his Twitter feed – the latest rumor was that Serena was in rehab – when he heard the elevator doors ping open. He looked up expecting his lawyer or Sapphire's lawyer, but who was actually there stopped his heart. Her hair was pushed back into a bun and she was wearing a gray pencil skirt with matching blazer. She was involved in her phone too, when she finally looked up. Their eyes met and she froze.

"Hey," he said clearing his throat.

"Hey," she replied with a smile. "So…"

So many questions popped in Darien's brain with that statement. _So…where have you been for the last month? Why did you leave after punching Sapphire? Where did you go?_ He wanted to ask them all, he deserved to ask them and be answered by her with the truth for once. But for some reason his mouth wouldn't move to form the words. He just sat there watching her as she took a seat next to him. They sat in silence for what seemed like ages.

"Look, Darien, I…" she started to say and then the courtroom door opened revealing a bailiff.

"You guys here for the case with the fraud manager?" He asked gruffly. They both nodded and stood up. Letting her go first, Darien followed her into the courtroom. Their lawyers were already present – how had they not seen them come in? – and each smiled at them.

"Hey guys," Jane Emerald greeted them. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, if you don't count me being in a courtroom for the second time this year," Serena replied sarcastically. "So where's…" she trailed off as the door behind them opened and a man with platinum blonde hair that almost looked silver strolled into the room. He caught her eye and smiled. Darien watched all of this and wondered what was going on? Did Serena know that man? "Great," she mumbled. "I guess I should have known that Sapphire would use _him_ as his council."

"Yes, it does put a damper on things," James murmured.

"How can he use him though?" Serena asked. "He was the whole reason that the wrongful imprisonment suit with Alan was able to go through. He was a conspirator with Sapphire and Beryl."

"Can you prove that?" Jane asked. "Because if you can, then we got him too. But otherwise it falls under client/attorney privilege."

"I'm guessing a conversation that Sapphire had with me after the case was thrown out isn't going to help me? He said/she said and all that?"

"You got it," James replied. "What about you Darien? Has Sapphire ever mentioned his cousin Diamond before?"

Darien snorted. "You're kidding me, right? Until last month I didn't even know that Sapphire and Beryl were related never mind _siblings_. He barely talked about himself. He just talked about furthering my career with interviews, endorsement deals and the like."

"Hm…too bad," Jane said. "Don't worry though, we've got enough evidence against Sapphire that we shouldn't need to attack Diamond. We've got this case guys, and if we're lucky Sapphire will go away for a very long time."

Another door to the courtroom opened and the bailiff called out, "All rise." The trial of the century was about to begin.

* * *

After several weeks of testimony, both the defense and prosecution had rested their case. The jury was free to start deliberating. Jane and James thought that the decision should come down rather quickly. The evidence _was_ overwhelming that Sapphire had been a fraud, a conspirator and had committed several different crimes to get what he and his sister had been planning from the start. Of course, Darien still didn't know what they had been planning and he wanted to know, so he did the unthinkable and asked Serena out to lunch while they were waiting on the decision.

She agreed, but with one term. They couldn't dine at any restaurant. She was still keeping a low profile after everything that had happened last month, and she wanted to keep it that way. She wasn't ready to face the media and her fans. It was a miracle that she had come out of hiding even for this. But James and Jane had convinced her that her testimony would be better received in person rather than on webcam.

This caused a complication to arise in Darien's plan. He couldn't invite her over to his place because his building was still covered in paparazzi. Serena wasn't offering up wherever she had been staying for the last month, so where did that leave them?

"Any ideas?" Darien asked.

"Yeah, I have one," she replied and started walking towards the elevator.

Her idea turned out to be the basement of the courthouse. "That way we don't have far to go if the jury comes back with a decision." She had said. The basement was practically deserted. Except for a lonely table and four chairs in the corner underneath the stairs. They sat but didn't speak for a long while.

"So…" Serena finally broke the silence. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Everything," he replied.

"Everything," she sighed. "I guess I should have seen this coming."

"Yes, you should have. So…start from the beginning, Serena. What the hell happened?"

She didn't answer right away. It was hard to. She had been thinking about the story for months and now that she was finally able to tell her side to Darien and not the lawyers, she didn't know where to begin. _Start from the beginning, Serena_ , he had said. So that's what she did.

She told him about her downward spiral, how the night she destroyed all that hotel property she had been scared shitless when Sapphire had come to talk to her. She should have guessed from that moment that he wasn't who he appeared to be. Then she told Darien about her birthday. How after they had come back from the theater, Sapphire had been waiting for her in her room. He had tried to make the moves on her, she fought him off, and he cornered her. He gave her his ultimatum. Leave the tour or else things with Alan would get a whole hell of lot messier. She told Darien about how him giving her her platinum record had made her decide to fight for the tour that was rightfully hers. She told him about going to the courthouse and finding out that Diamond, who was Sapphire's cousin, was Alan's attorney. How they claimed the DNA sample had been tampered with. She told Darien about the long hours in the conference room, trying to come up with a solid defense, and how she was so tired when she got back to her hotel room, it took her a minute while she was undressing to realize that Sapphire was in the room with her. Serena even told Darien about what _really_ happened before he had walked in on them together. She told him about coming back to the hotel before the concert the next day to talk to him, but was sidelined by Sapphire instead.

"He knew what I was going to try and do," she explained. "He knew that I was going to try and talk to you before the show. Tell you the truth about what had really happened. He couldn't have that, not if his plan was going to work. He somehow got me cornered against the wall, and made me a deal. To either chose you or my music career. I chose you, but he had other ideas. He kissed me and that's when you came off the elevator."

"You chose me?" Darien asked. "But Serena I thought your music career was important to you?"

"It was, but we had already been down that road before, remember? When we first tried to get together? And I chose my career over you? I wasn't going to make the same mistake again, so I chose you. It didn't matter though."

"And to think the only reason I came up to my floor was to talk to you," Darien said and explained when he saw her shocked expression. "Yeah. What I told you was true. I had seen the way you looked when you got out of that limo and I knew you. You wouldn't have looked that way if you had really been cheating on me with Sapphire. But when I saw you two kissing, my anger took over."

Serena nodded. "And that's when you kicked me off the tour. Sapphire was so pleased that he told me what his plan had been from the start. He had a sister – Beryl – who was a singer too. He wanted to able to control you and give his sister and wonderful career. So he planned those open auditions for the opening act of the tour. Thinking it would have been too obvious to put her in the first day of auditions, he put her in the second day group. He didn't think you would find me on the first day."

"But I did."

"Which changed his whole plan. He did some digging on me and found out about Alan. He planned for Alan to be at the show in Royal Oak. He thought for sure that seeing him would drive me off the tour, but it didn't. But because Alan was out he instigated the whole wrongful imprisonment lawsuit. When I didn't leave the tour after he threatened me, he created the tampered DNA sample. The night you kicked me off the tour, the DNA sample mysteriously became untampered with and the case was dropped."

"Jesus Christ," Darien muttered. "You went through all that? But why didn't you tell me?"

"Because, Sapphire made it clear that if I even tried to tell you, I would lose everything. But that didn't stop me from trying."

"The Teen Choice Awards?"

She nodded. "It was all part of my plan to make you see the truth on your own. We were friends at that point so I thought that you would listen to me, but by that point you were already dating Beryl , my plan backfired. By singing 'Payphone' it made me sound like the jealous ex. If I had even tried to make you see the truth you would have said it was because I was jealous."

"But before the performance, we had lunch together. You could have tried to tell me then."

"I wanted to. I thought for sure you were going to ask me, but you never did and we were friends and I didn't want to mess that up again. Besides the paparazzi were watching us. Knowing Sapphire or Beryl they were having you tailed."

"Shit," he murmured. "I'm sorry, Serena. I'm sorry that I played into their hands."

She nodded. "It's okay. I did too."

"But that doesn't explain when we were in the studio together. You could have tried to tell me then too, but you didn't."

She sighed. "I was afraid that you were going to bring that up. You see, Darien, after our conversation at the TCAs I was hurt. I was heartbroken and I was so sick and tired of crying over you that I just didn't even want to try anymore. So I was going to let Sapphire and Beryl win. I was going to bow out."

"Hence our final song together," he replied. "I saw it in your eyes when we were recording, you were truly done. You were giving up on me. So what changed?"

She smiled and played with the necklace around her neck. "You. After the hurtful words that you said at the TCAs, I was shocked when you were actually speaking civilly to me. You truly wanted to know what had happened, and if I had been in a better mindset I probably would have told you because I had nothing more to lose at that point. Sapphire had already spoken to the record label and I was gone after that song. But I didn't tell you, and then you walked away leaving this behind." She pulled the necklace over her head and laid it out on the table between them. He picked up the silver chain and gasped when he saw what was on it. It was the ring.

"You…" he trailed off looking up at her.

"When you told me that Beryl and you were never going to get married that this ring would always and only belong to me, I knew that I had to try and fight one last time. One last chance to make things right. So, with Amy, HT, your band, and mine we came up with a plan."

"This plan involved the video?"

"Yes," she replied. "During our first Twitter war, what I said to you was actually a good song lyric. So I wrote a song around it. Amy had seen the song and knew right away how we were going to use it. All I needed to do was go to the arena and somehow run into Sapphire."

"How did you get in anyway? Ever since you left the tour, Sapphire made you Persona Non Grata at each venue."

"Raye helped me out," she smiled. "But it didn't take me long to run into him, and with the right bait, we got him to talk."

"Where was the camera?"

"Zach knew what we were up to and agreed to help out. When he saw me enter backstage he followed me without Sapphire seeing and tapped us."

"So then you did the music video, slipped it to Zach, somehow got in again backstage, got below the stage, and just waited for the right moment?" Darien asked.

"Yep," Serena replied. "It was hard, especially when you had your meltdown during 'Nothing,' but I waited. Although I do have to admit you doubting me when there was video evidence right in front of you was kind of insulting. Like I could really fake something like that."

"Hey, what can I say? I was in a vulnerable place," he smiled. "But…that still doesn't explain why you left during the madness after you punched Sapphire."

"Yeah, well…" her features, which had finally began to open up closed down again. There was something she wasn't telling him.

"Serena…"

She sighed. "I thought the reason would have been obvious. Yes, I had finally won against Sapphire. You knew the truth. Everything was okay and things should have gone back to the way they were before I left the tour, right? But…they wouldn't have. I wasn't the same person I was before Sapphire tried to kick me off the tour. I didn't recognize myself in the mirror. I had done so many things I thought that I would never do, that I needed to disappear for a while. I needed to truly take a break from this world."

"I see," Darien replied. "So does that mean that after this trial is over that you're going to come back?"

"No," Serena shook her head. "I'm still not ready. I told you, the only reason I came out of hiding was because my testimony would be more powerful coming from me in person rather than on video. After the trial is over, I'm going back into hiding, and I…"

"And you what?"

"Darien, I don't know when I'll come out again. Not until I'm ready and I don't know when that will be."

"So what are you saying, Serena? Are you saying that I shouldn't wait for you?"

"Yeah, I guess that is what I'm saying," she replied looking him directly in the eyes.

He chuckled darkly as he shook his head. "Wow. You really don't get it, do you?" He snatched the ring chain and all off the table. "I wouldn't have given this to you if I thought there would ever be someone else. Serena, there's a reason I stopped being a playboy after I met you. You're it for me." He stood up and placed the necklace back over her head. "If you need more time, take all the time you need. I'll still be here when you come back."

* * *

October

* * *

_From Music News Weekly_

**JAILHOUSE ROCK FOR FORMER MANAGER**

_It took three hours for the jury to come back with a decision in the cases against Sapphire and Beryl Thornton. Both parties were found guilty of all counts. Sapphire and Beryl are headed to jail – sentences to be determined at another date. So now, with all of this behind us, the questions still remain. Where has Serena been since that final concert last summer? Will we ever hear from her again? What about Darien? How will he move on from this betrayal? And will Serena and Darien ever have their happily ever after?_

**COMMENTS:**

**BAGTH4EVA: We haven't seen the last of Serena. She has too much talent for that punch to be her swan song. She just needs time to recover and figure out what to do next.**

**DarienShieldsWife: Darien is already back in the studio working on the next album. As for Serena, I hope she comes back. She's too talented to not be in this business.**

**Serena's Angel: As much as I love her, I don't think she'll be coming back. How do you after something like that? I hope I'm wrong but…**

* * *

Darien turned another page in his journal and started writing furiously on the clean page. He had been writing like crazy for the last two weeks or so. He couldn't figure out why the muse had come, but he wasn't going to look a sore horse in the mouth. He needed this to take his mind off of Serena. He hadn't seen her in three weeks, not since the decision from the jury had come down. He had hoped that after a week or two she would resurface again, but she hadn't. So whatever she was going through, she wasn't ready to come back yet.

And he was regretting telling her to take all the time she needed. For all he knew she wouldn't be ready for year. So, he went head first into working on his next album. By working on that his brain wouldn't have room to think about anything else. But every now and then, when he wrote a lyric or paused to sleep, she would sneak into his thoughts.

Like right now for instance. He had been working on a song about what had happened this past summer when he thought she had betrayed him and how he had been stupid. Those moments from the tour and those months apart played in his mind with every word he wrote. With a sigh he put down his pen and rubbed his temples. For the rest of his days that mistake would haunt him and if Serena didn't come back he would never forgive himself.

_I hope you're doing all right, Serena,_ he thought. _And I hope you'll come back soon._

* * *

Serena was doing fine or so she kept telling herself. The thing was that she hadn't exactly lied to Darien three weeks ago. She hadn't been ready to come back to that life and she wasn't now. Well, not completely. She had worked through the issues she had come up with. She knew whom to trust now. She knew how to handle things like the media, her fans, fellow celebrities, etc. And she was bored out of her freaking mind.

So why wasn't she ready to come back? …She didn't really know. Okay. She _did_ know the reason and it centered on Darien. Seeing him three weeks ago had been surreal. But it also made her realize that she needed to be by herself for a while and be comfortable with who she was without Darien. Because she knew – and after her conversation with him – that the moment she came back, she would be with Darien. She would be _engaged_ to him. That was a lot of commitment and sure she could tell him that she didn't want that right away but… After everything that she had put him through she couldn't add that to the list.

So she wasn't coming back until she felt ready to be a committed woman. _I hope you're all right, Darien,_ she thought to herself. _And I hope you were telling the truth when you told me you were willing to wait._

Her cell phone rang and she checked the ID with a frown. It was Amy, which was odd. Amy had known about her plan to leave and was told not to call unless it was an emergency.

"Amy?" She answered her heart beating a little quicker. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong."

"If nothing is wrong, then why are you calling me? I told you not to unless there was an emergency."

"I know, and technically this _is_ an emergency. Sere, I have someone here who wants to talk to you. And believe me, you want to talk to him."

"Okay…" Serena said stunned and mystified. Who could possibly be on the line? It wasn't Darien. Amy wouldn't call her for that. So who?

"Hello, Serena," another voice came on the line.

"Hello. Whom am I talking to?"

"This is…"

* * *

November

* * *

It was a week before the American Music Awards and Super Monday, the Monday before Thanksgiving where artists release new music instead of that Tuesday. Serena was still MIA and the theories had spun out of control – kidnapped by aliens, joined a convent, etc. Darien hadn't really noticed the insane rumors, he had been too busy. After the marathon writing session, there was a marathon recording session and then an editing session. By the time the marathon ended, Amy and the record execs declared Darien's new album done and had pushed to release it on Super Monday. The production and advertising teams had gotten to work, and instead of enjoying this week off, Darien was making the circuit promoting the album and his performance on the AMAs.

Through all of that, he was surprised to get a phone call from HT. He wanted to meet for lunch. With one hour free, Darien agreed and was waiting for him now at a small café.

"Hey, Darien," HT said as he walked up to the table. "Sorry if I'm late. I always forget about New York's traffic."

"No worries," Darien replied. "So…why did you want to meet?"

"To clear the air, to talk about Serena, and what we're going to do." Darien blinked in confusion. "Right. So when all that shit was going down, Serena and I were thrown together a lot. I just wanted you to know that nothing happened between us. She was all about trying to get you back and I was just helping her out."

"So nothing happened?" Darien asked feeling a little relieved. Although Serena had discussed this with him at the trial, he still felt better knowing from HT whether or not something had happened.

"Nothing. Serena and I are just friends. Trust me, I wouldn't get in the middle of what you two have go going on," he shook his head. "Anyway, speaking of her, you haven't heard from her, have you?"

"No, not since Sapphire's trail," he replied and at HT's questioning look explained what had happened.

"Why would you tell her to take all the time she needed? That could be forever."

"It could," Darien shrugged. "But if that's what it takes…"

"We need to draw her out somehow," HT said drumming his fingers on the table. "Make her come back…what if we did a public plea?"

"A public plea?"

"Yeah, you and I at the AMAs do a little speech to bring her out of hiding. Make her see that she's too good to let her talent be wasted."

"You think it'll work?"

"It might. Won't know 'til we try."

* * *

_From The Rolling Stone_

**OUR AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS WISH LIST**

_An amazing host! Let's admit it guys, the hosts the last few years haven't been all that great. We need someone fun and who actually listens to music! Jimmy Fallon are you available?_

_New material. Most of the time the performers do a song that's already hit the Billboard Hot 100 or the radio waves. Be original, folks!_

_Darien Shields' performance. He has a new album coming out the following day, but we haven't heard much about it. We are insanely curious to hear what our favorite pop star has in store for the masses. Possibly a song about a blonde haired angel?_

_An HT performance? The rap star hasn't released anything new since his duets with Serena London. Rumor has it that he hasn't even been in the studio. So our fingers are crossed that he'll surprise us all!_

_Serena and Beautiful Angels Go to Hell reemergence. It's been three months since the sultry rock singer punched out that fraud manager and finally set the record straight. But the blonde hasn't been seen since. Most are wondering (as are we) if she'll ever record again. We're hoping she will. She's too talented to stop now._

* * *

The red carpet was buzzing that night as Darien made his way down. The camera flashes blinded, his cheeks hurt from smiling, and the media's questions about that night and what was in store made his throat dry. He'd answered so many questions that he was wary he'd have a voice left for his performance that night. But it made him feel better to be sitting here with his band as he watched the show go on. It was much better than sitting alone in his apartment contemplating where Serena was.

At least by tomorrow, he would have an answer. HT and him were still going to do a little speech before the closing act and the producers were actually thrilled about the idea. A lot of people were making the same please they were, but the two of them together? Just made ratings gold.

So now all he had to do was wait.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm round of applause for the band Beautiful Angels Go to Hell!" The announcer exclaimed and was immediately drowned out by the crowd. Between the screaming, applauding, and gasping nothing could be heard much to Darien's disappointment. He was standing on the stage getting ready for his performance when he heard who was going to announce him. But couldn't be possible, could it? Why would it take her so long to come back? And how was it nobody knew? But the crowd soon died down and he was able to hear Lita's voice through the sound system.

"As you can see guys, Serena is _not_ with us. We miss her as much as you guys do and can only hope that she decides to come out of hiding soon."

"We traveled with this guy for two months this past summer and we sort of have a soft spot for him since he gave us our big break," Nick chipped in.

"He'll be releasing his second album entitled _Stupid Mistake_ tomorrow and already there's a lot of buzz," Paul said.

"Here to perform the title track 'Stupid Mistake' is Darien Shields!" The three exclaimed together. The lights went up on the stage and Darien was sitting on a stool staring out at the applauding crowd as the music began.

_I don't wanna love and I don't want anybody else_   
_Anybody else to either_   
_I don't want faith I don't wanna start another war_   
_A kingdom for my crowd of believers_   
_Did I lose my calling_   
_Did I lose you_   
_Don't lovers always get what they want_   
_I made a stupid mistake and my world crashed down all around me_   
_I made a stupid mistake and I threw it all away_   
_I threw it all away_   
_I got lazy on the wrong side of love_   
_Now I'm searching every face every crowd for you_   
_For you for you_   
_I don't wanna stain I don't want your love upon my hands_   
_But I don't understand what I'm leaving_   
_I don't wanna pray I don't want forgiveness from above_   
_But none of this was of my believing_   
_Did I choose to fall down_   
_Did I lose you_   
_Don't lover always get what they want?_   
_I made a stupid mistake and my world crashed down all around me_   
_I made a stupid mistake and I threw it all away_   
_I threw it all away_   
_I got lazy on the wrong side of love_   
_Now I'm searching every face every crowd for you_   
_For you for you_   
_I've been walking around with my head in the dark_   
_I've been stripped of everything that ever made me converse_   
_I've been lonely_   
_I've been searching the crowds for you_   
_For you for you_   
_I got lazy on the wrong side of love_   
_I was stupid sold my kingdom for a war with you_

* * *

**RollingStoneMag: If dshields performance was any indication, Stupid Mistake is going to be a hit. Fantastic song!**

* * *

The night was quickly drawing to a close. The performances had been phenomenal and the awards had been given out with grace. Beautiful Angels Go to Hell had won twice; once for Best Pop/Rock Song and once for Best Pop/Rock Album. The band had accepted both with a nod to their missing lead singer and the crowd had gotten antsy. They had hoped that Serena would have made a surprise appearance by this point, but the chances had dwindled down to nothing now.

Darien and HT were waiting backstage together getting ready to make their brief plea before announcing the final performance of the night.

"You ready for this?" HT asked a serious expression on his face.

"As I'll ever be," Darien replied and walked out on stage as the usher motioned for them.

The crowd went absolutely nuts at the sight of the two of them together. They approached the microphone and waited for the crowd to quiet down. Once they did Darien began.

"HT and I are here to announce the final performance of the night. But before we do that we have a few things we would like to say."

"As a lot of you know our dear friend Serena London hasn't been seen in over three months. After everything that girl has been through, we really can't blame her. But there is such a thing as being too long, and Serena, if you're out there watching, Darien and I are telling you that it's been too long."

"It's time for you to come back," Darien continued. "You're just too damn talented to let what Sapphire did affect you and keep you away from what you love."

"You spent two months fighting tooth and nail to get back here and you succeeded. Don't let all that fighting be for nothing." The crowd roared in approval and Darien took the mic again.

"Our last performance of the night have had many albums go platinum, sold millions of albums worldwide and is this year's AMA winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award." The crowd roared again.

"Here to perform a medley of their best hits, ladies and gentlemen, the legendary band Queen!"

The crowd erupted into cheers as the screen went up on the darkened stage. HT and Darien were reading the teleprompter with a questioning glance at each other. Instead of walking back to behind the stage, they were to stay out there and watch the performance. That was different.

The stage was covered in fog and the screen behind the outline of the musicians was alight. Pictures flashed by of headlines.

**ANGEL MISSING!**

**ROCK SINGER HAS NOT BEEN SEEN!**

**SERENA IN REHAB!**

**SERENA DEAD!**

The headlines continued to weave past as a heavy guitar and piano sounded in the background. The crowd was mystified. Why would Queen care about Serena's absence? Then the song began.

_Empty spaces what are we living for?_   
_Abandoned places I guess we know the score_   
_On and on does anybody know what we are living for?_   
_Another hero another mindless crime_   
_Behind the curtain in the pantomime_   
_Hold the line does anybody wanna take it anymore?_

The lights finally went up and the room could finally make out who was singing. A girl in leather pants and a black dolman top with long blonde hair. Darien sucked in a sharp breath. It was _her_.

_The show must go on_   
_The show must go on_   
_Yeah_   
_Inside my heart is breaking_   
_My make up may be flaking but my smile still stays on_   
_Yeah yeah ooh_   
_My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies_   
_Fairy tales of yesterday grow old but never die_   
_I can fly my friend_   
_The show must go on yeah_   
_The show must go on_   
_I will face it with a grin_   
_I am never giving up_   
_On with the show_   
_Yeah_   
_I've topped the bill I'll overkill_   
_I have to find the will to carry on_   
_On with the, on with the_   
_The show_

She dragged out the note to thunderous applause.

_The show must go on  
Yeah_

The band quickly transitioned twice into two songs and Serena walked to the edge of the stage and clapped her hands.

_Come on people!_   
_Buddy you're a boy make a big nose_   
_Playin' in the street gonna be a big man some day_   
_You got mud on yo' face_   
_You big disgrace_   
_Kickin' your can all over the place_   
_Singin'_   
_We will we will rock you_   
_We will we will rock you_   
_Buddy you're a young mad hard man_   
_Standin' in the street gonna take on the world some day_   
_You got blood on yo' face_   
_You big disgrace_   
_Wavin' your banner all over the place_   
_We will we will rock you_   
_Sing it!_   
_We will we will rock you_

Brian May started a guitar riff and Serena was walking around the stage with him in tow. She looked up once and her eyes instantly found Darien's who was watching all of this in shock. She had finally come back.

The guitar riff ended and the stage got really quiet. With a big sigh into the microphone Serena began to speak. "Hello American Music Awards!" The crowd roared. "I know it's been a while, but give it up for the amazing band Queen!" The crowd applauded with enthusiasm. "These guys are the best around, and they have very graciously agreed to help me with this next song." An acoustic guitar strummed. "This song will be brief, since we are almost out of time, but the whole version will be available on the Beautiful Angel Goes to Hell website at midnight tonight. I hope you guys like it!"

_And when you're needing your space_   
_To do some navigating_   
_I'll be here patiently waiting_   
_To see what you find_   
_'Cause even the stars they burn_   
_Some even fall to the earth_   
_We've got a lot to learn_   
_God knows we're worth it_   
_No, I won't give up_   
_I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily_   
_I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make_   
_Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use_   
_The tools and gifts we got yeah we got a lot at stake_   
_And in the end you're still my friend at least we did intend_   
_For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn_

Serena was moving again, and she was walking towards the stage where Darien and HT were still standing.

_We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in_   
_I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not and who I am_   
_I won't give up on us_   
_Even if the skies get rough_   
_I'm giving you all my love_   
_I'm still looking up, still looking up_   
_Well, I won't give up on us_   
_God knows I'm tough enough_   
_We've got a lot to learn_   
_God knows we're worth it_

She was standing directly in front of him now, and he finally caught a look at the hand that was holding the microphone. It was her left hand and twinkling in the light on her third ring finger was the ring. She took a breath to finish the song, but Darien didn't give him a chance to.

He kissed her long and hard, as the crowd cheered.

* * *

It wasn't until the morning, after many hours of making up together, that Darien wondered how long she had been planning that return. He asked her about it, and she laughed into his chest before lifting her head and answering,

"About a month."

"A month?" He asked incensed. "You've been planning this for a month?"

"Yeah, Amy called me and then Brian came on the phone and he asked me to be part of the performance. But if I did it, he warned me that I would have to continue my isolation."

"God, so you're telling me if Brian hadn't called, you would have been back sooner?" Darien asked.

"Yep, but it was more fun this way, wasn't it? More dramatic?"

He snorted. "Just like the rest of our relationship. Just promise me the wedding won't be like this?"

"But what fun would that be?" She laughed and kissed him.

_What fun indeed_ , he thought and kissed her back.


End file.
